


The Cloudy One

by nereno



Series: Lycoi [1]
Category: K-pop, iKON (Kpop), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood, Death, JunHwan is the main pairing with a side of other couples, Junhwe is bitchy, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, No Porn, No Smut, Omegaverse, Slight fluff, Swearing, Violence, War, WerewolvesISH, and a child, noMpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-17 11:05:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 100,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10592715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nereno/pseuds/nereno
Summary: Junhwe discovered that life wasn't experienced the same way depending on who you are and which world you live in.He also discovered that maybe, even in a world full of violence and hate there was still hope left in the shape of a wolf.The story of how naive boys fell into the pit of despair that is war.





	1. Peaceful Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, and welcome! ~
> 
> Please, keep in mind that English is not my mother tongue and thus I do sometimes make stupid mistakes. Feel free to correct them, it's always nice to help (´◡`).
> 
> So now, more about the fiction. I didn't want to put like a hundred of tags for each group and stuff so here are all the groups mentioned: iKON, Winner, BigBang, GOT7, Twice, BTS. That's a lot of people, yes, but it will be mainly centred on BTS and iKON. Two of the main characters are Original Characters (Dongmin/Haneul) that I created, which is where the tag OC comes in.
> 
> It is an AOB, or Omega verse, or whatever it's supposed to be called. I know that there are some kind of rules and stuff but my story doesn't really follow them so what you know of AOB might not be really useful here. Don't worry, everything will be explained.
> 
> The story is not rated M as I don't plan on adding any scenes but you never know. There will, however, be mentions of violence and such. There will be a warning beforehand anyway so that those passages can be skipped if you are uncomfortable reading those kind of things.
> 
> I think that's all, so, enjoy! ~

December 7th 2016, Seoul.

  
 

  
 

  
 

“… _which makes us follow the same pattern once more. Thus, we can wonder about the following questions: Where is the line between insanity and creativity? What is true happiness? Do you think…”_

  
 

Junhwe glanced down at his blank sheet and realised he hadn't taken any notes. He sighed before dropping his head on the table. It was his third hour of social psychology and it felt like his brain was refusing to process any more information that dealt with his courses. The morning he had had history of psychology, followed by two hours of cognitive psychology and he was now in his last hour of the day, psychology again. Junhwe didn't like nor hate psychology but his mother had been adamant and if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't mind much. He had never really known what he wanted to do and thus there had been no childhood dreams to be cruelly broken. Plus, the courses were rather easy when they weren't deathly boring and at least he wasn't alone. His best friend, Dongmin, was taking the same courses as he did. They had always been in the same class ever since middle school, where they had met.

Junhwe looked over to his friend's sheet on which were scribbled many notes in a messy handwriting. He'd have to ask for them at the end of the lesson if he didn't want to fail the next test. Dongmin, unlike himself, had always been a brilliant student. He loved psychology and when he wasn't studying, which rarely occurred, he would still ponder on the meaning of life. 

Junhwe sighed a last time before focusing on their teacher's monotonous voice once more.

“… _We can then wonder about the link between our emotions and the body-mind connection…”_

  
 

As Junhwe finished taking notes on the current topic, he felt Dongmin elbowing him slightly.  _ “Isn't that the cute senior you're crushing on over there?”  _ He said as he pointed to the window.

Junhwe quickly wiped his head around and looked down at the main yard. There was indeed a mop of vibrant orange hair walking around the campus.

“ _Don't be so loud!”_ Junhwe half-shouted half-whispered.

“ _ Scared your sweet Jinhwan might hear?”  _ Dongmin sing sang with a smirk.

“ _Of course not, he's like a damn mile away you moron. The teacher is right there.”_

  
 

Dongmin only sneered at his friend's answer and resumed his note-taking.

Junhwe looked back at the yard to watch the other man which was now sitting on one of the bench. It was a cold winter day and even if the blue sky was empty of any cloud, Junhwe was pretty sure that it was deathly cold outside. Jinhwan wasn’t wearing many layers and Junhwe was almost worried. Almost.

He had once, only once, said that he found the senior's hair quite weird because of the bight orange shade. From then on, Dongmin had went around and had shouted to every single passer-by that Junhwe's frozen heart had begun beating again.

Junhwe didn't have a crush on that senior. In fact, he had never crushed on anyone in particular. He had never felt the urge to date or be all lovey-dovey with a precious someone, would it be a girl or a boy. He did however like, from time to time, to have another kind of company but it would always result in one night stands.

Even if Jinhwan was indeed quite nice to look at and even if Junhwe had happened to look over to the senior more than once the past days, he didn't feel any particular attraction towards the other male.

“ _It will ring in a minute so you can pack your things now.”_

Junhwe's attention snapped right back to his teacher who was now getting ready to leave the room.

“ _Could you lend me your notes? I haven't written anything down all day”,_ Junhwe said as he put his blank sheet back in his bag.

“ _Why you should I?”_ Dongmin inquired.

“ _Cause you're my best friend?”_ Junhwe shot back.

“ _You know what's the best part of being friend with you?”_ Dongmin asked, an easy smile on his lips as he gave his notes to Junhwe. “ _ I feel really loved, especially when you need something from me.” _

“ _Don't be gross, you're only loved when you're useful”,_ Junhwe joked as they both left their classroom.

  
 

It was now 3pm and most students were finishing their day, which resulted in the corridors being quite packed. Dongmin and Junhwe had trouble getting out in the front yard, pushing their way though the thick mob of students.

Once they had managed to get out of the main building, Junhwe, without really realising it, looked over to where Jinhwan had been sitting earlier but the bench was now empty. He felt a vague feeling of disappointment but went on his way without a second thought. He had skipped lunch to get some sleep and he was now starving.

  
 

“ _Wanna hang out for a bit?”_ Dongmin offered as they left through the main doors.

“ _Sorry but all I want right now is to eat and then sleep. I'll go back home”,_ Junhwe said before bidding goodbye to his best friend.

  
 

They parted ways and Junhwe then proceeded to walk to his bus stop. The ride was no more than 10 minutes long and it would have taken even less time to walk back home since the bus stopped at many different parts of the town but he was just too exhausted.

The bus was already there when he arrived at his bus stop and he immediately got in it. He sat down and sighed. Junhwe had been doing nothing all week but attending classes and yet he had never felt this tired before.

That was definitely not how he had imagined his first year of college being like. He had been born and raised in Seoul and although you might think Seoul's schools were harder than countrysides', Junhwe had done absolutely nothing and yet he had managed to not only not fall behind, but he had also somehow got third place at his final exams.

Many people had told him that college would be fun, that he could go to classes only when he wanted and that he was going to get wasted every single week end. It was the middle of the second semester and he had been to only one party.

Party at which he had first seen Jinhwan. The thing that had struck him really had been the hair. The lightening had been so faint that Junhwe hadn't been able to see anything but that. Flashy orange hair.

Then he had seen him on the campus. Jinhwan had pretty hair, with a pretty colour but he also had a pretty face. And pretty hands.

It wasn't like Junhwe had purposely watched the senior. He had happened to see him once (more like 10 times already, but that's a secret) in one of the music room in which he had been playing the piano. What do you look at when people play the piano? Hands, right.

When his bus finally stopped a few meters away from his house after what had seemed like hours of endless driving keeping him from eating, Junhwe got out of the bus and walked to his home.

He unlocked the door, entered the house and locked it right back.

“ _Mum?”_  
  
 

No answer. Junhwe sighed. His mother wasn't home once more. It didn't really came as a surprise for him to come back to an empty home. Ever since his father's death 8 years ago, Junhwe's mother had been quite busy with work so that she could earn enough money for the both of them on her own. 

Junhwe didn't remember much of his father. Not so much because he had only been 5 when his father passed away but rather because the man had always been travelling back and forth between Seoul, Mokpo and Jeju for his work as a canine researcher.

Junhwe's mum in fact worked as a vet specialized in canines in her own clinic. She was often being called in for sudden reason since they were also taking in strays and wild animals of various sizes, even foxes or wolves, which explained why she wasn't often home. 

She had told him that his father and her had met in the university and that they had instantly fallen in love. That story always bored Junhwe to death, he had never really believed in sweet and unreal romance like that.

  
 

Junhwe walked to the kitchen table, the usual note waiting for him on it.

_ ' _ _ Sorry Junhwe, they found a hurt dog and they needed help with it. I don't know when I'll be back. I've left some pastas for you in the fridge. Love you, Mum. _ _ ' _

  
 

Junhwe sighed once more. He couldn't really blame his mother, she was just doing her job, but she had been called in so many time these past days that it felt like he hadn't seen her for 2 weeks straight.

Junhwe went over to the fridge  and  looked inside. It was almost empty.  He quickly glanced at his mother's pastas and even if she was a great cook, she was nothing compared to ice cream. There was, luckily, some ice cream left.  Junhwe was always up for that, it was probably his favourite thing to eat.

Junhwe closed the fridge, took a spoon and sat on the couch, ice cream in his laps, lazily watching TV. That was what college life should be like.

  
 

  
 

Less than an hour later, Junhwe had emptied the ice cream pot and he was now growing immensely bored of the stupid reality TV shows that seemed to be on every single channel of the world. It was getting closer to 5 pm and his mother wasn't back yet. He was still as hungry as before and he was bored.

So bored that he decided to do something he rarely did, he grabbed his bag, took Dongmin's notes out and started reading them.

To say the truth, he couldn't really read anything – he wasn't really focusing and the handwriting was too hideous to be read by his precious eyes – yet he didn't stop. That way, he felt like he was paying attention to his studies slightly more than he usually did.

His mother had scolded him weeks ago about that.

Just like Junhwe had been doing for the past 19 years of his life, he had not learnt any of his lessons for the midterm exams. Of course, the marks had not been glorious.

Junhwe was not the rebellious type. He wasn't doing it on purpose to enrage his mother. He was just lazy. Without working, he managed to get acceptable grades. What was the point of working then? With the kind of studies Junhwe was doing, he was probably going to be a psychologist. He had no interest in that kind of job whatsoever and thus he had absolutely zero desire to work for something he didn't like.

Not that it mattered to him, he didn't care, in fact. He wanted an easy job with a good pay and thus an easy life. Dongmin wanted to be a psychiatrist, way too many efforts for Junhwe. Plus, he hated kids. He hated many things. One of the many things he hated most, along with children, was moving.

And then, his phone which was at the other end of the house rang.

“ _Bloody hell, you gotta be kidding me._ _ ”  _ he muttered under his breath.

With many difficulties, Junhwe rose from the couch with a yawn. He dragged himself to the kitchen table where his phone lay.

‘ _Mum’_

Junhwe sighed for god knew what time today. His mother was probably going to tell him she couldn't come home tonight.

  
 

“ _Hey, Junhwe sweetheart, how was you day?_ Junhwe's mother voice echoed through the speaker.”

“ _It was fine, get to the point please.”_ Junhwe knew he ought to be nicer to his mother but he was hungry, tired and he couldn’t careless.

“ _Well, err, there's this huge wolf with an enormous gash and...”_

“ _Yeah, got it, you won't be home tonight,”_ Junhwe interrupted.

“ _Well actually, I don't know when exactly I'll be back.”_

“ _What does that mean?”_

“ _It's kind of hard to explain, honey. Let's just say that I am going to be needed quite a lot for some time.”_

Junhwe scoffed aloud.

“ _That's very slightly kind of vague, mum.”_

“ _I know, I'm sorry, but you're almost 20, Junhwe. I'm sure you can live a week or so on your own.”_

Junhwe felt the anger rising up in his core. He knew that he was an adult and that most of his college friends were already living on their own and working part time, being responsible and all. Junhwe wasn’t like that, and he knew that it was a disappointment to his mother. He hated it.

“ _I ain't doing the chores for a whole week. I'll stay over at Dongmin's apartment.”_ he spat angrily before hanging up, without any further ado.

He was acting like a spoiled brat, he was aware. Did he care? Not really.

Junhwe ran upstairs to his room and packed a few things randomly in bags. He wasn't going to live on his own for a week, definitely not. That meant cooking, doing the dishes, and doing some actual cleaning.

It was way easier to crash over at Dongmin's apartment. If it was the first time Junhwe was going to stay over at Donmin's new flat, it definitely wasn't the first time he crashed over without a warning.

Dongmin used to live with his adoptive parents whose house was just a street away from Junhwe's but Donming had suddenly claimed independence at the start of the school year and he had moved out.

Junhwe had been in the new apartment only 4 or 5 times but he remembered clearly the address. His house was way bigger and so they would often meet up at Junhwe's instead.

He knew that Dongmin was living with a senior from their school but he had never met him.

He just hoped he was a good lad that wouldn't kick him out.

  
 

  
 

One hour later, Junhwe was standing in front of the main door to Dongmin's apartment. He had had to take the bus to the other end of the town to get to his friend’s flat. He was tired, angry and more than edgy. Dongmin lived on the 3rd floor, and he thus rang the corresponding doorbell, waiting in silence in the cold winter wind.

“ _Who is it?”_

The voice was foreign and Junhwe reckoned that it belonged to Dongmin’s roommate.

“ _Koo Junhwe, I'm Dongmin's best friend. Could you please let me in?”_

It had  almost  physically hurt Junhwe to sound so polite and nice, his sour mood not helping at all.  He knew that he needed to come off as slightly kind if he didn’t want to be immediately kicked out.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence during which Junhwe thought that maybe, just maybe, he had rang the wrong bell. Just as he was about to apologize and flee of embarrassment, the voice spoke again.

“ _Come in.”_

The door buzzed slightly, indicating it was ready to be pushed open. Junhwe passed the main doors and stood in the hall for a few seconds.

That was when Junhwe realised the only flaw in his master plan.

Maybe he should have called before coming uninvited. Because maybe, just maybe, Dongmin wasn't home yet. And maybe Dongmin wouldn't let him stay over for an undetermined time which was most likely going to last for quite a bit.

Junhwe dragged himself to the elevator and pushed the button to the third floor. And then, as usual, he sighed. He was too lazy to go all the way back to his home anyway. And he didn't want to prove his mother right by staying a week  alone.  Dongmin was his best friend, he would probably let him stay. The room-mate was going to be the biggest issue.

Junhwe got out of the elevator and walked to the last door on the left.

Door which was already opened, Kim Jinhwan standing in its frame.

Junhwe had to look twice to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. The man was short, even shorter than Junhwe remembered him being. His orange hair  was brightly contrasting with his white pallid skin  and the smooth locks of his fringe stopped right above his dark eyes. The man was staring at him, his gaze softened by his long eyelashes brushing again his high cheekbones.

“ _Err, hello I guess. I'm Dongmin's room-mate, Kim Jinhwan.”_ He stated, his voice high and soft.

It took a few seconds for Junhwe's brain to translate this simple sentence into useful informations. Dongmin was living with Jinhwan. Junhwe was in front of Jinhwan. Jinhwan was looking at him. Jinhwan was talking to him.

And finally, Jinhwan was probably expecting an eloquent answer and not the disturbing stare Junhwe was most definitely giving him.

  
 

“ _Koo Junhwe”_ , he managed to grit out, trying his best not to look like a complete moron.

“ _Yeah, we've met once at Jaebum's party, right?”_

Junhwe fought to keep a smile off his face.  Jinhwan remembered him and the mere thought warmed his whole body oddly.

“ _Yeah, we did.”_

Another few seconds of intense staring and awkward silence  went by .  The two of them kept looking at one another without saying anything. After a while, Jinhwan finally spoke up, clearing his throat.

“ _May I know why you're here?”_

“ _I need to talk to Dongmin.”_ Junhwe stated eloquently.

“ _You should have called.”_ Jinhwan said, tilting his head in confusion

“ _I could've, indeed.”_

Junhwe glanced away, feeling the other man’s stare on him. As he looked back, Junhwe saw that Jinhwan wasn’t looking at any more and he was now focusing on the bags that Junhwe had brought along.

“ _What are those bags for?”_ He asked, pointing at them.

“ _Er... To stay over?”_ Junhwe answered with an awkward smile.

“ _Dongmin didn't tell me.”_

“ _He doesn't know yet.”_

Jinhwan's eyes widened in surprise for a second, and then disappeared into an eye smile.  _ “You're an odd one”,  _ he chuckled.

If Junhwe hadn't already been red from embarrassment, he would have probably gone crimson.

“ _Dongmin should be home in a few minutes, you can come in while waiting for him.”_

  
 

If someone had told Junhwe that he was going to end up sitting in Dongmin's living room with Kim Jinhwan a few meters away, he would have called them a  complete idiot.

Yet there he was, sipping on a low-cost coffee Jinhwan had made a minute ago, sneaking glances here and there at the senior who was now sitting on the worn out couch.

  
 

_ The second this  _ _ idiot _ _ is home _ , Junhwe thought,  _ I'm going to discuss some things with him. _

Every time they had spoken of Jinhwan – no, that definitely does not happen every single day, thank you – Dongmin had had the chance to tell Junhwe who his room-mate was. Yet, he hadn't.

Dongmin had left home before the school year started in late August. Which meant that he had been living with Jinhwan for almost 5 months already.

From where did they even know each other?

  
 

After thirty minutes of what felt like hours of endless embarrassment, Jinhwan rose from the couch.

“ _Dongmin will be there in less than a minute,_ he said _ . I'll stay in my room so that you can guys can have a bit of privacy.” _

“ _How'd'you know he'll...”_

  
 

The loud steps of an overly excited Dongmin echoing in the corridors cut Junhwe's sentence short.

As the front door opened, the door to Jinhwan's room closed.

“ _Jinhwan, I'm home!”_

Junhwe bitterly noted the lack of honorifics.

“ _Welcome back, dickface.”_

Dongmin stopped in his tracks. He looked at Junhwe then he looked around the apartment before saying:

“ _What are you doing here?”_

“ _My mum won't be home for a while. Can I stay over meanwhile? Thank you, that's very nice of you, now I'd like to have a talk with you.”_

“ _Junhwe, what even...?”_

  
 

Before Dongmin could say anything, Junhwe took his best friend by the wrist and dragged him all the way to what he knew to be his bedroom.

Once they were both in Dongmin's room, the door closed, Junhwe spoke again.

“ _Why did you not tell me Kim Jinhwan was your room-mate?”_

“ _I didn't think it would matter. You would have asked if you had any interest in knowing who your best friend has been living with for almost half a year.”_

“ _Point taken.”_ Junhwe sat down on Dongmin's bed and yawned. “ _ Still, you could have told me.” _

“ _I thought you weren't crushing on him.”_

“ _-M not.”_

“ _Keep lying to yourself.”_

Junhwe scoffed. “ _ Where do you even know him from?” _

“ _We don't really know each other, we both needed a room-mate and...”_

“ _Do I need to point out to you that you didn't even bother calling him 'Hyung'? Is that how you act with people you 'don't really know'? He's like 3 damn years older dude.”_

“ _Well, yeah.”_

  
 

Junhwe stared at his best friend. Something was fishy. Really fishy.

He had the clearest evidence of obvious close friendship between the two and yet Dongmin was still trying to deny it.

They both didn't care for honorifics, they lived together, Dongmin had hid it that fact...

  
 

“ _Don't tell me you two are a thing?”_

Dongmin's disbelieving face was hilarious and Junhwe would have probably laughed if the topic was less serious than his best friend being possibly gay. Junhwe even thought he heard a vague laugh which could have either been Jinhwan's or Junhwe's brain laughing at its own stupidity.

But Jinhwan couldn't have possibly heard them anyway, which meant Junhwe was officially going insane.

After what was probably a whole minute of complete silence, Dongmin finally spoke again.

“ _What the hell did you just say?”_

“ _Well, I mean, it makes sense.”_

“ _No it bloody doesn't.”_

“ _So you're not...”_

“ _No, we're not.”_

“ _Oh. Ok then.”_

“ _Yeah, Ok.”_

  
 

Junhwe awkwardly cleared his throat before getting up from the bed. He was about to come up with some half-assed apologies when he heard a knock on the door.

“ _What do you guys want to eat?”_ Jinhwan's muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

“ _Anything, I'm starving”_ , Dongmin answered as he opened the door and followed Jinhwan into the kitchen.

  
 

As Junhwe was about to leave the room, Jinhwan came back to him, his bags in hand. He had apparently left them in the living-room, too focused on getting answers from his best friend to actually care about his bags.

“ _You can start to unpack your things while Dongmin and I are cooking, if you want to.”_ Jinhwan added with a small smile.

Junhwe simply nodded. He felt like he had already embarrassed himself enough for the day and he decided that talking would probably only result in his dignity sinking even lower.

He grabbed his bags, thanked Jinhwan and then closed the door. He dropped them on the floor, went to lie down onto Dongmin's bed and then just like every single time things went downhill, he sighed deeply.

His brain wasn't big enough for this kind of thing. No matter how hard he tried to understand what was going on between Jinhwan and Dongmin, he always came back to initial hypothesis. Hypothesis which he didn't like a lot, if he was completely honest with himself.

Dongmin had assured him they weren't like that, and Junhwe believed him.

Junhwe got up from the bed and almost tore his bag of clothes open. He threw everything out and pushed it into an empty drawer in Dongmin's wardrobe.

“ _That's done.”_

Then Junhwe looked around the massive mess that was the bedroom. Clothes, most likely dirty clothes, were hanging on every piece of furniture in the room. Books and sheets full of notes were lying here and there on the floor, making the simple act of walking quite a journey.

He didn't like mess.

But he liked cleaning even less.

Junhwe sighed once more, and walked up to the bedroom door. He was about to open it to join the two others when he heard his name being said, the sound being quite muffled by the door.

Eavesdropping was morally incorrect. Junhwe knew that much. Either way, he didn't care.

  
 

“ _Junhwe smells weird.”_

Junhwe felt his face reddening. He quickly smelled his armpits and tried to smell his breath by blowing on his palm, but it didn't stink in any way.

“ _Yeah, it's quite disturbing”_ , Junhwe heard Dongmin say.

“ _Has he always smelt like that?”_ Jinhwan said, his sentence faint from all the noise off the food cooking and stirring.

“ _It got fainter after I presented but well, everything kind of smells fainter now.”_

“ _He must have been born that way then.”_

Junhwe knew he was quite slow, but it was the first time of his life he ever felt so lost. He couldn't understand anything of what they were saying, beside the fact that he was apparently stinking since his birth and that no one had ever told him.

“ _It didn't struck me as much the night of the party,”_ Jinhwan said.

“ _Ah, right, you guys ran into each other that day.”_

“ _It's probably because there were so many smells in one single room that day that I couldn't smell Junhwe's properly.”_

That started to sound really wrong. Junhwe was now convinced that he wasn't smelling any weirder than any other human being and the only plausible explanation was that Dongmin and Jinhwan were secretly into some kind of weird smelling fetishism.

Which would explain why they know each other, they must have met in some sort of club.

Junhwe was well aware that he was being ridiculous, and he didn't believe a word of his stupid theory.

But he couldn't make any sense of what the two men were saying.

So he did the only logical thing he could think of.

  
 

“ _What even are you two talking about?”_

Jinhwan and Dongmin both jumped in surprise and quickly turned around. Junhwe was standing in the kitchen's door frame, looking quite adamant on getting answers to his question.

“ _Dongmin was just telling me about your new cologne. I've never smelt that one before, what's the brand?”_ Jinhwan said, looking quite distressed although he had a smile plastered on his face.

“ _I don't wear any.”_

  
 

That was, in fact, a lie. Junhwe did use perfume, who doesn't, but Jinhwan attempt at lying had been so obvious that he couldn't have helped it.

“ _Oh, you don't? It must be your shampoo then. It smells quite nice_ ,” Jinhwan tried again.

Junhwe then realised that they both had absolutely no intent of telling him the truth, even if he was painfully aware of their lie. Not that it mattered to him anyway.

There were only a few things that mattered to Junhwe. And knowing whether his best friend and some senior were into weird fetishes wasn't one of them.

He sighed, and sat at the kitchen table.

  
 

“ _So, what are you guys cooking?”_

“ _Ramyeon, we didn't have much in the fridge actually”_ , Jinhwan answered lightly, the previous  uneasy atmosphere slowly fading away.

“ _So, how long are you going to stay?”_ Jinhwan asked as Dongmin went to sit next to Junhwe.

“ _Until my mum comes back home, so, a while I'd say.”_

“ _Don't ask for permission, it's obviously not needed when you suddenly wants to sleep over at someone's house”,_ Dongmin scoffed.

“ _Where am I sleeping by the way”_ , Junhwe asked, suddenly remembering that Dongmin's bed was too small for the two of them to fit in it.

“ _On the couch.” “In Dongmin's bed?”_

Jinhwan and Dongmin looked at each other, the former wearing a sweet smile and the latter throwing a murderous glare to Junhwe.

“ _Well, Jinhwan, tell me where I am supposed to sleep if Junhwe takes my bed.”_ Dongmin sing-sang, a false smile plastered on his face.

“ _On the couch?”_ Jinhwan offered with a grin.

“ _No. Way.”_

Junhwe looked from Dongmin’s disbelief painted features to the cute way Jinhwan was smiling at him. It didn’t really matter to him where he was sleeping. He knew that their couch was pretty comfortable anyway.

“ _He's your best friend, you should be nice to him.”_ Jinwhan went on.

“ _Which is why he's sleeping on the couch and not on the ground.”_

Junhwe had to bite down on his lips to keep himself from laughing. He didn’t even know his best friend could be so hilarious. His brows were so furrowed and his eyes bulging out that he looked like a madman.

“ _Dongmin, this is my apartment and he isn't sleeping anywhere else than in a bed.”_

“ _You've got a double bed, I'm sure both of you can fit in there.”_

Junhwe almost choke d on his tongue. He looked over  from Dongmin's triumphant face  to the elder’s reddening one.

“ _Don't be stupid Dongmin, we've talked for the first time today, that'd be too awkward_ .” Jinhwan stuttered.  “ _ Enough now, you're taking the couch, end of discussion.” _

Much to Junhwe's surprise, Dongmin nodded and went to take some clothes for the night on the couch.

  
 

“ _How did you manage to make him agree so suddenly?”_ Junhwe asked.

He knew that Dongmin could be pretty stubborn at times.

“ _Dongmin's a good lad. You just need to find the right phrasing,”_ Jinhwan said as he took the  pan away from the fire. “ _ Dinner's ready boys!” _

  
 

As soon as they were all seated at the table, both Dongmin and Junhwe dug in on their own since Jinhwan had told them that he had already eaten earlier.

Dinner was delicious, so delicious that during the entire meal, not much was said.

Some ice cream had definitely not been enough to satisfy Junhwe's hunger and he was now happily devouring everything Jinhwan had cooked. Jinhwan which was, in fact, an amazing cook.

  
 

“ _D_ _a_ _ch_ _'s re_ _e_ _ee_ _lly g_ _u_ _d“,_ Junhwe said, his mouth still full of noodles.

“ _You're disgusting, don't talk while eating, it's gross”_ Dongmin said, his face scrunched up in distaste.

“ _Your face is gross,”_ Junhwe answered,  stuffing even more food in  his mouth .

Jinhwan shook his head in amusement and looked over at Dongmin who was now dramatically enacting the Titanic's parting scene with some of his noodles.

Once they had finished eating, the three of them cleaned up, with Junhwe more watching than washing.

It was now getting close to 9pm and Junhwe was tired. A shower would do him some good, it would also be the occasion for him to check his body odour, even if he was pretty sure he smelled just fine.

  
 

“ _Can I take a shower?”_ Junhwe asked to sound a bit more polite in front of Jinhwan although he was already walking towards what he knew to be the bathroom's door.

“ _No, I'm going first. You're taking my notes, my food, my bed, but you won't take my hot water.”_

  
 

And then Dongmin ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

  
 

“ _Well, guess who's going to shower with cold water tonight”_ , Jinhwan laughed as he put the dishes out.

Once more, Junhwe sighed.

Seeing the intense despair in Junhwe's eyes at the thought of a cold shower, Jinhwan said:

“ _I can go last if you want me to.”_

“ _Nah, it's fine, Hyung.”_

It took less than half a second for Junhwe to realise his mistake. He saw Jinhwan freeze slightly for a moment and he almost slapped himself across the face in embarrassment.

Junhwe had thought about how he would address to Jinhwan if he ever was to talk to him.

'Kim Jinhwan' made him sound angry, 'Jinwhan-ssi' was too formal, so 'Hyung' seemed like the best option after they would have talked for a bit, even if it did sound more intimate than what they would be on their first meeting.

First meeting which was happening right now. First meeting during which he had just called Jinhwan 'Hyung'.

  
 

“ _If you feel unconformable with me referring to you as Hyung then I can just…”_

“ _No, no, I'm just not used to it at all. Dongmin's been calling me by my name for so long that I forgot underclass-men are supposed to call me 'Hyung'.”_

_ For so long.  _ Junhwe couldn’t help but feel a nasty feeling overcoming his heart.

“ _Since when do you know Dongmin, actually?”_

“ _A while,”_ Jinhwan answered as he averted his eyes.

“ _Well, that is curious. He's never talked about you before.”_

“ _We kind of grew apart. We're both from Jeju-do but he moved out to Seoul during his first year of middle school.”_

  
 

Junhwe made a non-committal sound and nodded. If they had indeed been childhood friend and were still close enough to live together, why didn't Dongmin tell him about this?

Junhwe did feel slightly jealous. He looked over at Jinhwan which had now finished with the dishes and had went to sit down on the couch.

That's when Junhwe noticed the piano next to it.

  
 

“ _Do you often play at home?”_

“ _Sorry, what?”_

“ _You're so often in the music rooms that I thought maybe you didn't have one at home”,_ Junhwe said as he pushed one of the piano's key.

“ _You do watch me a lot, don't you.”_

Junhwe's head shot up from the piano to Jinhwan's face where he met the older man's eyes.

Jinhwan looked calm, black eyes staring back evenly and lips curled up in a smile.

Junhwe thought for a second that his heart had stopped, not from not from the elder's ethereal beauty, but from the realisation that Jinhwan had in fact known he was being watched.

  
 

“ _Don't make such a face, you look constipated”,_ Jinhwan joked, his sweet smile widening.

“ _He's basically emotionally constipated anyway.”_

  
 

Even if Junhwe did quite hate Dongmin at times, he could have kissed him out of thankfulness right there as he had come out of the bathroom at the most perfect of times.

Without saying anything, Junhwe ran to the now empty bathroom and locked himself up in it.

He sat down on the cold tiles, and he took a long deep breath.

  
 

The week was going to be very long.

 

_ (5757 words) _


	2. Portend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very mild violence towards the end of chapter.

December 8th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe was barely awake when he heard his door being opened at dawn. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew he was still way too tired and it was still way too early to get up. 

Dongmin and Jinhwan's apartment was a bit further away in the town. It was closer to one of the countryside's woods and thus, he was going to have at least an hour of bus to go downtown to his school.

Which meant he needed to wake up one hour earlier than he usually did.

Junhwe sighed in his pillow. He had absolutely zero desire to move far away from the bed's warmth.

Then he heard footsteps coming closer to the bed and he felt a slight tap on his shoulder.

“ _It's 8 Junhwe, you need to get up.”_

If Junhwe had been woken up by anything else than Jinhwan's sweet voice, he probably would have obliterated the criminal that had dared disrupting his slumber.

“ _Come on, get up now.”_

Junhwe made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. He didn't want to. He was tired, he was going to have endless hours of psychology once again and that definitely did not sound like a good plan for the day.

Plus, waking up meant showing his horrible morning face to Jinhwan.

“ _ I'll b'there in'a m'nute,” Junhwe mumbled, his voice still heavy with sleep. _

__

“ _You better be, we're going together and I don't want to be late for my composing classes,”_ Junhwe heard Jinhwan say as he felt the elder hand trying to smooth down some wild locks.

If Junhwe had been awake enough to realise that Jinhwan was in fact playing with his hair, he probably would have blushed.

But Junhwe wasn't awake, nor was he aware of himself. So he shamelessly rolled onto his back to get closer to Jinhwan who was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

It was only five minutes later when he realised that he could smell Jinhwan's cologne that it occurred to him he might have been a bit too close.

Junhwe immediately shot up and looked around him, alarmed. Jinwhan was looking at him questioningly, still sitting on the bed no more than a meter away from Junhwe.

“ _Your hand. In my hair.”_

“ _Well, err, yes? I'm sorry?”_ Jinhwan said, looking quite lost.

Junhwe was so embarrassed of his own over-reaction and so confused as to what to do next that he did the only rational thing he could think of: he ran away.

Literally.

He took some random clothes abandoned on the floor that were most likely Dongmin's and he ran into the bathroom to get changed.

Ten minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the living room table, breakfast supplies spread out and absolutely no sound whatsoever in the apartment.

Junhwe was looking at everything in the room but at Jinhwan's face.

Jinhwan, for one, was looking straight at Junhwe, which was quite disturbing for the latter who's cheeks were starting to burn.

“ _Did Dongmin already leave?”_

“ _He actually left quite some time ago.”_

Junhwe looked up slowly to the elder's face. Jinhwan wasn't looking at him any more and had now started to eat his piece of bread.

Junhwe took his own, spread some marmalade on it and began eating.

After a few minutes of total silence during which Junhwe took a peculiar interest in the amazing whiteness of the wall, he finally decided to be slightly more courageous and he raised his gaze to Jinhwan's face once more.

The other man was still entirely immersed in his eating and was not paying attention to Junhwe's stare.

Junhwe realised he had, in fact, never seen Jinhwan's face so up-close.

He noticed for the first time that the elder had a heart-shaped mole under his right-eye, and that fact seemed so cute to Junhwe that he couldn't hold back the smile on his face.

Junhwe quickly checked whether Jinhwan's attention was still not on him before starting to inspect the elder's face shamelessly, roaming his eyes on Jinhwan's entire complexion.

From his cat-like eyes to his button nose, then from his small hands to his bright orange hair.

Without even realising it, Junhwe's eyes then lowered to Jinhwan's red lips.

“ _Is there something on my face?”_

Junhwe's eyes shot right back up to Jinhwan's. He felt his mouth drying up and his cheeks reddening.

“ _No, there isn't.”_

Jinhwan nodded, his lips stretched in a small knowing smirk.

Junhwe resumed his eating, making sure his gaze stayed stuck on the table.

After a few minutes of complete and awkward silence, Jinhwan stood up and started putting out the supplies in the kitchen cupboards.

“ _Could you lend me a hand and do the dishes? We'll be late otherwise.”_

In his 19 years of total self-sufficiency, Junhwe had never once done any cleaning. 

His distress must have shown on his face because no more than five seconds later, Jinhwan asked:

“ _You've washed dishes once, haven't you?”_

Junhwe looked at the pile of disgusting plates full of bread crumbs and marmalade.

“ _No.”_

Considering the disbelieving face the elder gave him, if Junhwe had even had a chance with Jinhwan, he had just lost it - not that he cared for chance, mind you.

“ _You're kidding, right?”_

Junhwe shook his head, feeling incredibly stupid.

He was so sure that Jinhwan was about to face palm of despair, that it came to a surprise when he simply chuckled.

“ _You're amazing_ .”

Junhwe looked at Jinhwan who was still smiling widely as he put out the last jam pot.

“ _You know what, let's just say we were in a rush this morning so we didn't have time to clean up. Dongmin'll do it, it's his cleaning week anyway and I already did yesterday's dishes,”_ Jinhwan said as he went into his bedroom to get his school bag.

“ _That sounds like the best idea I've ever heard,”_ Junhwe stated.

The two men then proceeded to get ready to leave the apartment. No more than 10 minutes later, they were standing at their bus stop, waiting for the bus which was to be there in a second.

It was quarter to nine and if the bus was on time, they would arrive at school before 10. They weren't late, and Junhwe thought of this as total feat as he had never once since the start of the school year been on time to a lesson.

Thankkfully, their bus arrived just on time.

Jinhwan and Junhwe were now sitting side by side in the complete silence. Except for an old lady, they were the only two persons in the bus and Junhwe felt awkward.

He knew he should try to find something to say instead of just looking through the windows like a lone wolf. He was perfectly aware of his own lameness and yet he didn't feel like doing anything about it.

He sat a bit straighter and turned his head slightly so that he could see Jinhwan's face without looking like a creep. The elder was looking straight ahead, not sparing a single glance in Junhwe's direction.

Junhwe turned his head back the other way and stared outside once more.

He had never been in this part of Seoul. It looked, in fact, so much like the countryside that he wasn't even sure it was still part of Seoul's suburbs. The landscape were mainly made of forests and huge trees.

Junhwe closed his eyes for a second. He was still feeling tired. When did he not, after all. He let his head rest onto the window for a short moment before he heard Jinhwan's whispering voice.

_ "We still have more than 45 minutes of ride, you can sleep for a bit if you want to. I'll wake you up." _

Junhwe simply nodded, his eyes still closed.

He did want to sleep. He felt exhausted and the only thing he wanted was a comfortable bed but all he had was a very hard bus seat that felt more like an iron chair and a window pillow on which his head bumped every 2 seconds.

He was however too lazy to move from his very uncomfortable spot and thus his head kept on hurting every time it bumped again the glass and his back kept on aching for at least 20 minutes.

Then, as if Jinhwan had felt his despair, the elder carefully moved Junhwe's head away from the window. Junhwe didn't move a bit and kept on acting as if he was sleeping. He felt Jinhwan move, then he felt his hands in his hair placing Junhwe's head delicately on his shoulder.

Junhwe held back the very manly squeal that threatened to leave his lips. He felt his face heating up and he prayed for Jinhwan not to notice.

He tried to move a bit to be more comfortable but it only resulted in his face getting buried more in the elder's neck which made Junhwe a lot more able to smell his honey mixed with coffee scent. He was definitely not going to be able to sleep like this, but hey, who was he to complain when he was put in such a good situation.

The rest of the ride, however, went by way too fast for Junhwe's liking. He felt like he had been resting on Jinhwan's shoulder for no more than 5 minutes when the elder gently shook him awake.

Junhwe sat a bit straighter, and glanced at Jinhwan's face. He looked a bit red and his ears were burning but Junhwe refused to think it was because of him. So he just took a deep breath and got up.

He followed the elder out of the bus without any word and the two of them walked up to the school which was pretty close to the bus stop. Junhwe's first hour of the day was cognitive psychology and he was thus taking his lesson in one of the amphitheatre of the left aisle in the first building.

Jinhwan had a composing lesson which were taken in the music rooms of the second building.

So Junhwe awkwardly cleared his throat and said:

“ _Well, see you later.”_

“ _Yeah, have a nice day,”_ Jinhwan answered as he waved him goodbye.

Junhwe looked at the elder's retreating silhouette getting further and further away. He didn't move from his spot until Jinhwan had entered his building and then he let out a moan of despair.

He was socially disabled, that was what Junhwe thought of himself.

  


  


When Dongmin saw Junhwe entering the amphitheatre 5 minutes before the beginning of the lesson, he knew something was up.

As soon as Junhwe sat down next to him, Dongmin spoke.

“ _Why in the world are you not late? I thought it was like your weird ritual or something.”_

“ _Good morning to you too Dongmin, I’m fine, thank you for asking.”_

Junhwe sighed before dropping his head on the table. He was probably going to have a mark on his forehead based the loud sound it had made but he didn't really care.

“ _Why do I suck so much?”_

“ _Well, you suck at many things, could you be more precise?”_

Junhwe glared at Dongmin who looked completely unaffected by the apparent hate his best friend was giving him.

“ _Social interactions_ ,” Junhwe finally mumbled after a few minutes.

Dongmin laughed out loud.

“ _You? Worrying about your non-existent social skills? That's new dude_ .”

If the teacher hadn't chosen this exact moment to enter the room, Junhwe would probably have choked Dongmin to death.

“ _Fuck you dude_ ,” Junhwe whispered as the teacher started the lesson.

Dongmin had to bite his hand to keep himself from bursting into giggles.

The oh-so-cold Junhwe who had been a complete head for the past 19 years of his miserable life was now worrying about his social interactions.

How cute.

“ _You're hilarious dude.”_

“ _Shut it now”,_ Junhwe half whispered half shouted, his face growing redder by the second.

“ _Something happened with Jinhwan, right?”_

“ _Leave me alone.”_

“ _Lee and Koo, I'm sure your discussion is probably a lot more interesting than me but pay attention to my lesson please.”_

They both shut up for the rest of the morning.

When their two hours straight without any break of cognitive psychology were finally finished, Junhwe immediately rushed out of the room. He knew that if he hadn't, Dongmin would probably have cornered him so he could know about what had happened with Jinhwan the morning. Junhwe knew what he would say if Dongmin learned about that.

‘ _You're crushing on him.’_

And Junhwe definitely was not. So he did what anyone who wasn't crushing on someone would do. Instead of going to eat during his lunch break, he went to the second building's music room. Not to watch Jinhwan. Obviously not. He had just felt like skipping lunch to walk around the school.

And so he ran far away from Dongmin's annoying curiosity, walked through the main yard packed with students leaving school to eat out in town and entered the second building. He took the same path as he already had the past weeks. He walked up to fifth room, expecting to find Jinhwan already seated at his usual piano, playing his usual tune.

Jinhwan, however, was standing next to the already opened door, looking straight in Junhwe's eyes.

“ _I, err, saw you coming_ ,” Jinhwan tried to explain, his ears red.

“ _There's no window through which you can see the yard at this floor.”_

“ _I know there isn't.”_

Junhwe stared at Jinhwan. He couldn't find anything to answer to that.

“ _I'm going to play for a bit, you can come in if you want to”_ , Jinhwan said as he left the door frame and went to sit at the piano in the middle of the room.

Junhwe felt confused. Yet he still entered the room as well and he went to sit on one of the chair in a corner.

“ _It's not going to eat you, you know”_ , Jinhwan said as he pushed one of the key while looking with an amused  grin at Junhwe.

So Junhwe took his chair and walked up to the piano. He put it down next to Jinhwan, less than a meter away and sat down. He was so close that their knees were almost touching.

Junhwe did not blush.

Then, Jinhwan started to play and Junhwe forgot to be embarrassed. He stared in amazement at Jinhwan's tiny hands which were moving fast across the tiles.

Jinhwan suddenly stopped playing and looked over at Junhwe.

“ _Do you know how to play?”_

“ _No, I don't”,_ Junhwe answered, quite thrown off.

“ _Would you like me to teach you how to?”_

Junhwe whipped his head back to Jinhwan's face so fast that he almost hurt his neck.

“ _What?”_

“ _If you want to, of course.”_

Junhwe was so surprised and confused that he couldn't react properly. He felt his head nodding without his consent, which Jinhwan took as a yes since he immediately started showing which key was what to Junhwe. After a few minutes of Junhwe struggling to remember the order of the notes, Jinhwan made him listen to the sound. Even if Jinhwan praised and encouraged him, Junhwe knew he was completely hopeless. He couldn't even hear the difference between a damn C# and a G.

“ _I suck.”_ he mumbled desperately.

“ _No you don't, it's your first time.”_

Junhwe had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from commenting on the ual innuendo Jinhwan had just made. Before Jinhwan could notice Junhwe's embarrassment and red ears, the bell rang, saving Junhwe from a ton load of awkwardness.

“ _Gotta go, I don't wanna be late”,_ Junhwe said as he shot up and rushed out of the door.

“ _Alright, see you later!”_ Jinhwan shouted as Junhwe ran out.

First of all, Junhwe didn't give a damn whether he was late or not. Second of all, he didn't have any class this evening since his teacher was currently off for a pregnancy leave. He was going to be appointed a new teacher next week but for now, he was free to go.

Jinhwan didn't know that, of course.

As soon as Junhwe was out of school, he stopped in his tracks. He didn't even know what he was going to do. Dongmin's classes ended at 4 and Jinhwan was probably going to stay at school after his classes to play a bit more.

He had told his mother he was going to stop by home to take more clothes and although he had absolutely zero desire to walk to the bus stop and then ride all the way to his house, he had nothing else to do.

  


  


And so there he was, 15 minutes later, in front of the huge mess that the living-room was.

He had called his mother during the bus ride and she had warned him that the house was going to be a bit disorganized as she didn't have the time to put her paper in order.

But when his mother had mentioned some papers on the table, he had not expected to see piles of books and sheets of all the colours of the rainbow to be scattered everywhere in the damn house.

Junhwe walked upstairs and started packing another bag full of clothes. He took some underwear for next week, some t-shirts, another sweater since he had taken only one over at Dongmin and Jinhwan's apartment and a pair of jeans.

When he arrived back downstairs, he glanced quickly at the sheets on the kitchen table.

He knew his mother to be a clean freak and if the house was in that kind of mess, then maybe she as overwhelmed by work as she said she was.

Now, Junhwe was indeed taking a liking in doing the contrary of what he was told.

He, however had no interest in making his mother's job even more difficult but when you see your best friend's name written in capital letters on one of the sheets that should have been work related, you can't help but take a look at it.

So he drew a chair out and sat down at the table. He took the sheet in his hands and started reading. Under Dongmin's name, there was a drawing of a wolf with the symbol  _** 'α'  ** _ next to it.

The wolf was beautifully drawn. Its fur colour looked quite odd to Junhwe as it was mainly dark grey and black but there were random patch of white fur here and there. The front paws were white, the ears pitch black but the rest of its head was whitish grey.

When Junhwe put the sheet down, he realised there was in fact a ton of those sheets with names written on it and drawing of wolves of different sizes and colours drawn underneath.

What all they had in common was the fact that their names were nothing alike what you would expect an animal to be called.

Dongmin, Jaebum, Jimin, Haneul, Nayeon... 

All those were human names.

Junhwe put down the white sheets with wolves names and drawings and instead he took a blue one.

On this one, there were written what he thought were most likely wolves' species. Many names were written next to each category.

“ _So that Dongmin wolf is a Timber Wolf, uh_ ,” he said aloud as he read his best friend's name next to the said specie, completed by the scientific name put in parenthesis:  _ Canis lupus lycaon. _

Junhwe was definitely going to ask his mother who's idea it had been to name them that way.

But then he saw another familiar name.

Next to  _ 'Red Wolf  _ _ ( _ _ Canis rufus) _ ', there was only one single name written.  _ Jinhwan _ .

He found the occurrence so peculiar that he started looking frenetically for that wolf's white sheet. All the others had a white sheet with their names and drawings, so this one would probably too.

And it did. After a few minutes, he finally found it.

The sheet looked a lot more recent as the ink was a more readable than it had been for Dongmin's.

The wolf looked a lot tinier than all the others he had seen. It had a vibrant orange fur and deep brown eyes. Next to it, there was the symbol  _** 'ω ** _ _ '  _ and the words ' _** Cloudy One'. ** _

Junhwe's curiosity only grew stronger when he realised there was something written under Dongmin's sheet in the same manner as on Jinhwan's.

The ink was smeared and he could only make out the word  _** 'Swamp'. ** _

Junhwe was quite confused. It seemed simple, though.

His mother's job was to care for canines, especially for wolves. Every time she took care of one, she made a sheet for it, maybe so that she can recognize it if she sees it again. And since calling them number sounds weird, she gave them names. Maybe she thought giving them names such as Rocky or Charlie sounded too lame for animals like wolves.

And thus she gave them human names.

And yet he couldn't help the bad feeling he kept on experiencing. He knew something was fishy, but he couldn't find the link between the different odd events that had happened recently.

Junhwe took a deep breath, put all the sheets in order back on the table and he took his bag, ready to leave. He gave a last glance at the mess in the living room and then left.

It was growing closer to 5 and Dongmin was probably going to be home soon.

It was time for some questions.

  


  


  


  


“ _Welcome back Junhwe.”_

“ _Hi dickface.”_

Junhwe heard Dongmin's laugh echoing from the kitchen. 

He closed the door to the apartment and took off his shoes before going into Dongmin's room to put his bag down.

After he was done, he joined his best friend who was eating some snacks at the kitchen table. Junhwe knew he should be cunning and cautious, but he couldn't help himself.

“ _Did you know my mother names the wolves she takes care of?”_

_ Bingo.  _ Dongmin suddenly froze and stared for a few seconds at the wall before answering.

“ _I had no idea.”_

“ _She gives them human names. One's called Dongmin.”_

“ _That is indeed quite interesting.”_

Junhwe was perfectly aware that he was being everything but smooth, but based on his best friend reaction, it seemed as if he knew something that he didn’t, and he wanted to find out.

What he wanted was answers.

“ _Did you know that I_ _ don’t use perfumed shampoo, by the way _ _ ?” _

If Dongmin had been slightly worried, he was now looking quite distressed.

“ _Oh, you don't? Is that some kind of hidden message? Do you want me to buy you one?”_

“ _Stop acting silly, I'm talking about yesterday.”_

When Dongmin showed no sign of saying anything else, Junhwe added:

“ _When you guys were talking about the way I smell.”_

Dongmin sighed, then took a deep breath and sat straighter before speaking up.

“ _Look, Junhwe, you're my best friend.”_

“ _And you are mine”,_ Junhwe snorted.

“ _I'm being serious here.”_

Junhwe stopped laughing altogether. His smile slowly fade away when he realised that Dongmin was, in fact, actually serious.

“ _There are things that are not good to know. Things that should be kept secret, because knowing them could hurt.”_

Junhwe scoffed. He didn’t know if Dongmin was joking or not, but none of what he was saying made sense to him.

“ _Come on, I'm not some swooning lady.”_

“ _I'm talking about physical pain there.”_

Junhwe raised a questioning brow. He couldn't get where this was going at all.

“ _Are you part of the Korean Mafia?”_

If the atmosphere wasn't as tense, Junhwe would have laughed at his own joke but seeing the grave look Dongmin was giving him, he bit the inside of his cheek to hold his smile back.

“ _Just drop it please.”_

Junhwe looked at Dongmin. His best friend looked adamant. Junhwe knew he was not going to get his answers.

What was his curiosity against his best friend's warnings? Maybe he actually had something to do with the Mafia.

So Junhwe sighed.

“ _Fine. I'm going to take a shower.”_

Junhwe saw the relief on Dongmin's face and suddenly, getting answers didn't seem so important.

“ _Thank you”_ , Dongmin said, sincerity dripping from his voice.

“ _No prob's mate.”_

Junhwe got up from the table, went into Dongmin's room to get a change of clothes and went to take his shower.

When he got out 10 minutes later, Dongmin seemed as joyful as ever, talking animatedly with Jinhwan who had probably come back some minutes ago.

When Junhwe's gaze met the elder's, he experienced a weird feeling in his stomach. He felt his ears reddening quickly and his heart beating faster. Between the morning wake up and the bus drive, Junhwe reckoned he had made enough a fool out of himself and that he deserved some sleep. So, he mumbled a quick ' _G'd'night_ ' and locked himself into Dongmin's room.

He heard Jinhwan say through the door:

“ _What about dinner?”_

“ _'M not hungry,”_ he answered before falling on the bed, his face buried into the mattress.

The day had been full of too many emotions for Junhwe too handle. His stomach started doing weird looping when he thought again about the morning's bus ride and the sweet way Jinhwan had waken him up. He could still remember the feeling of the elder's hand in his hair.

Junhwe took a deep breath to calm himself down. He had felt tired for days now, so going to sleep so early wouldn't do him any bad. It would also spare him the embarrassing reminiscing of his awkward self.

So Junhwe turned the lights off, made sure his alarm was on for 8, and then got into Dongmin's bed. 

He rolled onto his side, closed his eyes and slept.

  


  


  


  


December 9th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


When Junhwe opened his eyes the next morning, he knew the day was going to be completely miserable.

Instead of being woken up by Jinhwan's delicate voice, it had been by Dongmin's wrenching cry of misery.

Junhwe sat up, he looked groggily at his phone and sighed when he realised it was only half past six.

“ _It hurts!”_ Junhwe heard Dongmin's shouts from the kitchen.

Junhwe, who was still in his underwear and a plain white shirt got up and walked into the kitchen, ready to kill Dongmin with his bare hands if it was his only way to make him shut up.

He did not expect to see a half dying Jinhwan rolling on the floor while laughing his lungs out and a completely drenched Dongmin with a frying pan in his left hand.

The sight was so queer that in Junhwe's still half sleeping mind, the only plausible explanation was that he was still sleeping and that all this was a dream.

Dongmin proved him wrong less than half a second later as he walked up to Junhwe and hugged him after screaming out:

“ _Feel how insanely hot I am!”_

Dongmin was hot indeed.

Dongmin was, in fact, burning hot, and wet.

Dongmin had been drenched with hot water.

“ _Dude get away, it's too hot!”_

“ _I know! I'm hurting too man! I was trying to make some coffee but this idiot thought it was a good idea to give me a good scare while I was boiling the water.”_

“ _With a frying pan in the hand?”_

Junhwe heard Jinhwan's ragged breath due to his intense laughing.

“ _Well, no, the frying pan was to hit him.”_

Junhwe took a deep breath. He looked at Jinhwan, who was still holding his ribs, his whole body shaking with giggles, then at Dongmin's fuming clothes and scattered coffee beans. If he had been less exhausted, he probably would have laughed too.

In his hazy mind, Junhwe didn't really pay attention to the fact that the burning water, even if it probably was in fact not as hot as Dongmin said it was, had not really affected his best friend. 

Maybe it would have then occurred to him that Dongmin had never really complained about pain when he got hurt.

But Junhwe was basically sleep-walking and thus, he didn't pick that small detail up.

Not that it would have helped him get a better understanding of his best friend’s apparent secret.

And so Junhwe just sighed and he said

“ _You guys are too weird for me to handle. I'm going back to sleep.”_

And then he walked back into Dongmin's room and proceeded to go into dreamland once more.

When he was woken up for the second time this morning, it was by knocks on his door and Jinhwan's voice telling him to wake up. Junhwe felt like precious hours of sleep had been stolen from him. He was still tired, his clothes were uncomfortably wet due to Dongmin's earlier hug and he had a headache.

Junhwe took so much time getting ready that when he finally left Dongmin's room, he had no time to eat his breakfast any more.

“ _I made a cup of coffee for you. Drink up and go or you'll miss the bus”,_ Jinhwan said as he put the cup in Junhwe's hands.

“ _When do your classes start?”_

“ _I don't have any on Friday mornings.”_

Junhwe sighed. He should have taken music instead. He had no talent whatsoever, but at least he would have had time for himself. It felt like Jinhwan had less than 10 hours per week.

He brought the cup to his lips and tried to sip some coffee but it was so hot that he moved it quickly away from his face.

Probably too quickly.

“ _Damn, there are coffee stains on my sweater.”_

“ _Go change right now and maybe you'll be on time.”_

Junhwe would have laughed he wasn't so desperate. This coffee was going to be the end of him.

“ _I don't have any other. The black one is in the washing machine.”_

“ _Then put on a shirt.”_

“ _I'm going to freeze my butt off.”_

“ _Then take one from Dongmin.”_

“ _They are all rolled up in a corner of the room, and they stink.”_

Jinhwan sighed. He looked with amusement at Junhwe disgusted face as the younger man stared at the dark stains.

“ _Drink your coffee and take this off, I'll give you one of my hoodies. They are too big for me anyway.”_

And so there was Junhwe 10 minutes later, on the bus, wearing Jinhwan's hoodie. Even for him it was slightly bigger than how it should have been and Junhwe was at least 20 centimetres taller than Jinhwan.

And thus Junhwe spent the hour of ride trying to imagine how cute the elder would look like with that hoodie. Because even if Jinhwan had denied wearing it, the hoodie smelt like him.

That mere thought made Junhwe's stomach churn uncomfortably.

When he entered his classroom in the third building for his first hour of psychology of the day, Junhwe knew, the moment his eyes met Dongmin's, that the morning was going to be very long.

“ _That's Jinhwan's”,_ Dongmin stated with a smirk as soon as Junhwe sat down next to him.

“ _No it isn't.”_

“ _Don't lie to me dude, it reeks of him.”_

Junhwe gave a side glance at Dongmin, his choice of words a bit odd.

The smell wasn't that strong, was it?

“ _Your damned coffee attacked my sweater, I had to borrow him something.”_

“ _You could have taken one of mine.”_

“ _Your clothes stink.”_

Dongmin was about to complain when the teacher entered the room, cutting their argument short.

It was the first time since the beginning of the year that Junhwe was taking actual coherent notes and it was also the day Dongmin decided to mess with Junhwe. Every time Junhwe wrote something, Dongmin took his pen and wrote 'Jinhwan' with a heart next to it. 

By the end of their first hour, there were more doodles, kissy faces, hearts and Jinhwan's name than notes on Junhwe's sheets.

As much as Junhwe was trying to ignore the knowing smirk Dongmin was giving him, he could still feel his best friend's stare.

The second hour went by much alike the first one.

Junhwe sheet grew fuller of Dongmin's awful drawing. And Junhwe's annoyance grew fuller as well.

When the bell signalling his freedom finally rang, Junhwe packed his things at lightening speed and rushed out of the room.

His morning had been awful. He had been waken at dawn by Dongmin's manly screams, then he had stained his favourite sweater and things had gotten even worse with Dongmin's teasing.

What he needed right now was ice cream.

Luckily, there was a store down in one of the alley-way, less than 10 minutes away.

They were as the start of December, at the door of winter, it was freezing cold outside and yet Junhwe craved an ice cream. He always did.

And so he left through the main yard and started to walk toward the right street. 

Five minutes spent thinking about his delicious popsicle later, Junhwe finally made his last turn on the left into the tiny market's small alley.

It was quite dark and deserted which had been to be expected as all the students were now taking their lunch breaks somewhere else than this very street.

When Junhwe arrived in front of the market's doors, he noticed a boy around his age, maybe younger, standing on the opposite wall, eating his own ice cream. The next time Dongmin was going to make fun of him for eating ice creams in the middle of winter, he was definitely going to mention this encounter.

He was not the only weirdo in town.

When Junhwe left the market ten minutes later, a strawberry flavoured popsicle in his mouth, the other boy was still there. Junhwe thought for a second that if he had not been the antisocial moron he was, he probably would have walked up to the boy and tried to make friends.

But he did what he usually does, he glared at the boy without even really meaning to.

When their gaze met however, Junhwe knew he had ed up.

“ _The fuck you want?”_ The boy spat as he pushed himself away from the wall and walked up to Junhwe.

Now, Junhwe didn't praise himself for being especially tall, but he was however above the 180 centimetres mark. That boy right there, was at least 190 centimetres tall and Junhwe felt intimidated. He was glaring straight at him with angry black eyes.

Of all the people living in Seoul, Junhwe had to anger the only psychopath.

“ _You deaf or what, Omega?”_

Junhwe's confusion must have shown on his face because for a second, the other boy had looked as weirded out as Junhwe was.

Then he got even closer and Junhwe unconsciously stepped back.

He saw the boy nostrils widen and he realised that he as in fact being smelled by a random stranger on the street.

“ _What even are you?”_

Junhwe was starting to get scared. Really scared. The boy was looking angrier by the second and if he was to suddenly take a knife out and kill Junhwe, nobody would ever find his corpse. That's how deserted the street was.

Junhwe suddenly thought that staining his favourite sweater wasn't much compared to being killed in a dark alley-way.

“ _Look man, I don't want any trouble, lemme just...”_

Junhwe's voice trailed off as he heard the sound of rustling fabric and claws against the cold hard ground.

If he had been a bit confused and worried, he was now completely terrified.

The boy was no longer there. Instead, there were scattered clothes on the pavement and above them, a wolf. It was a huge light wolf with a pretty creamy fur. Although his head was mainly white, the body was more of an orange shade which made the overall colour quite unusual.

Its ears were raised straight up in the air. It was alert and focused, ready to jump. It was staring back at Junhwe with the same angry dark eyes and no matter how hard Junhwe was trying to deny what he had just seen, there had been a human and there was now a wolf.

Junhwe was starting to have cold sweat. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

He couldn't think of anything.

He was just scared.

And he was right to be.

In less than a second, the wolf had leaped towards Junhwe and the second it took for Junhwe to react had been too long. The wolf had managed to bite off the right sleeve of the hoodie, digging slightly his canines in Junhwe's arm which was now bleeding profusely. Junhwe thought bitterly that if he ever got out of this alley alive, he would have to apologize to Jinhwan for ruining his hoodie.

Right when the wolf was about to attack again, the second strangest thing in Junhwe's entire life, after being attacked by a wolf-boy, occurred: he got saved by another wolf.

While the first one was almost completely white and stubby, the second one was darker with white spots here and there and a lot more bigger. Its front paws were white and the head was of a greyish white, besides for the ears which were pitch black.

Before Junhwe could try to run away, the lighter wolf launched at him once more but he was intercepted by the other wolf. Junhwe was so scared and utterly terrified for his life that he felt his legs shaking in fear. He couldn't even move. He could only watch the battle of the two wolves happening before his very eyes.

Then the darker one howled in pain as the creamy one clawed at his left eye. It staggered back for a few second before snapping at the other wolf's neck and shoulder. It probably managed to bite the lighter wolf quite hard as it screeched loudly before running away, leaving a trail of blood behind.

It took a few seconds for Junhwe to realise that he was now somewhat safe. He felt so relieved that his legs gave in and he collapsed on the cold hard ground.

The greyish white wolf trotted up to Junhwe and looked straight in his eyes. Junhwe noted with a relief that the cut was under the wolf's left eye and that it was still able to see perfectly well.

He also noticed that the wolf's fur was too odd to be forgotten. He knew he had already seen it, and he knew where. He didn't want to believe it. But he had just seen a boy shifting into a wolf right before his eyes.

“ _Dongmin?”_ He whispered  in a broken voice , unsure.

t made absolutely zero sense and yet when the name had left his lips, he had already known he was right.

The wolf's ears straightened right up and its tail started to wither.

“ _Holy shit.”_

Junhwe was frozen in place. What were the odds for his best friend to be a wolf? Before he could say anything else, Junhwe heard a familiar voice calling his name. Junhwe turned around and saw Jinhwan running to him. 

He didn't know what to do.

He had been attacked. By a wolf. Or a boy. He didn't know. And he had been saved by a wolf, or his best friend. He didn't know either.

What he knew was that if he told this to anyone, they would think he was insane.

“ _Shoo! Get moving Dongmin, Jinhwan can't see you!”_ Junhwe said as he tried to push the wolf away with his feet, to scared to actually touch it with his hands.

But the wolf didn't budge. It stared evenly at Junhwe, its gaze not wavering.

As soon as Jinhwan sat down next to Junhwe, he tried to come up with some kind of explanation that wouldn't sound completely mad. Before he could even open his mouth, Jinhwan talked, not to him, much to Junhwe's surprise, but to the wolf.

“ _Was that an Alpha from the Ice Pack?”_

Junhwe's eyes widened in horror when the wolf's massive head bobbed up and down as if it was nodding. Jinhwan then looked at Junhwe's bleeding arm.

“ _We're going back home first, I need to take care of Junhwe's arm. Shift somewhere safe and get back home as soon as possible.”_

And then the wolf was gone.

Junhwe stared in the void, struggling to get his thoughts in order. He couldn't focus at all.

“ _Does it hurt_ ?” Jinhwan asked, using the torn sleeve to bandage the cuts.

“ _Hyung”_ , Junhwe almost regretted addressing him that way when he saw Jinhwan tense _ , “what in the world was that?” _

“ _Junhwe, I need you to stay very calm, and to tell me what happened, in details”,_ Jinhwan said in a soothing voice as he helped Junhwe up.

“ _There was boy and then he kind of transformed into a wolf. I know I sound completely crazy but...”_

“ _You are not crazy,”_ Jinhwan stated as he put his arms around Junhwe's waist and hugged him tightly. “ _ Calm down and breathe.” _

Junhwe breathed in deeply and felt somewhat comforted by Jinhwan's now vaguely familiar homey smell, a mix of honey and coffee. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath before hugging Jinhwan back.

“ _That 's fucked up.”_

He felt the older man nod in silence. Junhwe tightened his grip on Jinhwan's shoulders and he buried his face into the elder's neck. He tried to take deep breaths and to think of anything else than the consequences of all this, but he couldn't.

Junhwe didn't like to break down. He didn't like to cry. He thought it was too girly and as a man, he should be manly.

But it was just too much. His arm was killing him, there was blood everywhere, his best friend was not human, he had spilled coffee on his favourite sweater and he had almost died in some deserted alley-way.

Junhwe's eyes started to itch and no matter how hard he tried to hold himself back, he felt tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

He had known from the beginning that the day was going to be ty.

He looked at his abandoned popsicle on the ground, then at the gash in his arms and for the first time in many years, Junhwe cried like the teen he still was.

(7075 words)


	3. Lighten

December 9th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


  


“ _So, basically, you guys are werewolves”,_ Junhwe said as he sat down on the worn out couch, his legs too weak for him to keep standing.

Jinhwan sighed and went to sit down next to Junhwe.

“ _Not really no, the exact term is Lycos. We don't go crazy under the moonlight and we can control our shifting, so it's quite different.”_

“ _Wait, you're saying werewolves are actually a thing?”_

“ _Thankfully, we're the only kind of human-animals in the world. Werewolves are a made-up legend.”_

  


Junhwe took a deep breath. Everything was still to vague for him to understand completely. If he was totally honest with himself, he was quite scared.

  


“ _We're not dangerous, usually.”_

Junhwe snorted. “ _Yeah, right, I definitely was not almost killed.”_

  


Jinhwan got up and went to crouched in front of Junhwe to be at his eye level.

“ _I'm really sorry. It's my fault, and mine only.”_

Junhwe raised a questioning brow. “ _Why?”_

“ _He smelt me. Because of my hoodie.”_

“ _If you guys attack every single passer by whose scent you don't like then the problem doesn't really come from you, you know.”_

  


Jinhwan looked bothered. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were wet as if he was about to cry. He sighed once more before speaking in a small voice.

“ _There are different kind of wolves with_ _different_ _kind of smell_ _s_ _, very unlike humans'. He didn't like mine so he attacked, expecting you to shift as well and to fight back.”_

“ _How much of an idiot was he to mess up a human smell and a wolf's smell? I mean, yours couldn't have masked mine, could it?”_

“ _Well, it's hard to explain and it would take time. But you're right, if it had been any other human it probably wouldn't have mattered, but your scent is weird.”_

Many things suddenly made more sense.

If the situation wasn't so grave, maybe he would have laughed at himself for thinking they were into some weird ism.

  


Reality was crueller. They were wolves. Well, _Lycos._

  


“ _So you guys are Lycos?”_

“ _Lycos is the singular, you'd say Lycoi if it's plural.”_

  


Junhwe nodded. It was hard to image how there actually were people he knew who had been wolves all along. Well, it would have been even harder if he had not seen someone shift with his own eyes.

Junhwe had hundreds of questions to ask but he didn't know if it was alright to ask. He didn't even know with which he should start. He was just too confused to even think properly.

He wanted to know. But what exactly? He just wanted to stop feeling so lost, first of all.

  


Before he could decide on one of the many questions he had yet to ask, the sound of the apartment door made his focus change to Dongmin's silhouette entering the room.

Nothing of the wolf was left. He looked the same as he always had and it was another proof of how well the secret had been hidden.

Junhwe had never noticed anything.

  


He looked, really looked at his best friend. He noticed that the clothes weren't his and the fact there was still the price tag on them could only mean that they had been in fact stolen.

Dongmin's black hair were a total mess, wild locks striking in every directions. He looked tired and worried.

Junhwe noticed, not without feeling hurt, that Dongmin wasn't looking at him on purpose.

He then realised that his best friend was hurt near his left eye and if Junhwe had not already believed in the fact that Dongmin had indeed saved his life, then this would have been the piece of evidence that would have had him convinced.

  


“ _You should put a_ _band-aid_ _on that cut.”_

Dongmin's head shot up at the sound of Junhwe's voice. He looked warily at his best friend as if he was expecting him to suddenly burst out.

If the situation had been less tense Junhwe would have commented on how much of a hung-dog Dongmin looked, the analogy sounding a lot funnier now.

The sad part was that Dongmin did have that guilty look as if he was expecting to be scolded any time.

He was standing in the door-frame with his eyes stuck on his shoes, not daring to come any closer to Junhwe.

  


“ _Thank you.”_

Both men's head shot up so quickly that Junhwe almost feared they had broken their neck.

“ _I mean, you kind of saved my life.”_ he added

Junhwe didn't really understand which part had made Dongmin so emotional but his best friend's eyes were now full of tears threatening to fall down his cheeks at any moment.

Before he could say or do anything, Dongmin had closed the few meters separating them and he was now breaking all of Junhwe's bones in a tight hug.

  


The two of them never had a physically close relationship but Junhwe couldn't bring himself to push his best friend away.

He could feel the fabric on his shoulder getting wet from all Dongmin's tears. He could hear Dongmin apologizing, his voice cut by his sniffles.

They both needed it, and Junhwe knew it. So he simply hugged his best friend back and shut his eyes tightly. They had started to burn and Junhwe considered he had cried enough for the day.

  


“ _When you guys are finished being cry-babies, I'll borrow Dongmin for a bit to take_ _c_ _are of that cut_ ,” Jinhwan teased, a smile audible in his voice.

Dongmin half-chuckled half-sobbed as he slowly let go of Junhwe and wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

“ _But by all means take your time! I would not want to stop you guys in your lovely_ _exchange_ _of snot!”_ Jinhwan said as he went in the bathroom to get the first aid kit.

“ _Come on, shut it!”_ Dongmin whined, his eyes still full of tears as he followed Jinhwan in the bathroom.

  


  


Ten minutes later, the three of them were seated at the kitchen table, Junhwe and Dongmin now both bandaged up and not crying any more.

Junhwe had questions, and he was definitely going to want answers.

“ _Ok, so, first, who knows about this?”_

Dongmin and Jinhwan looked at each other. There was a short wait, then Jinhwan said:

“ _Well, err, your mum.”_

  


Junhwe couldn't say he hadn't seen this coming. From the moment he had read the documents on the living-room table, he had known something was off.

It did not mean however that it didn't affect him at all.

He took a deep breath and nodded. He had already planned to call this mother to talk about it anyway.

  


“ _I figured, yeah_ ,” he said.

Junhwe looked up to Jinhwan and Dongmin who looked quite stressed and worried.

He had not thought of it before but it was probably their first time talking about their true nature to a human.

They were probably scared, even more than Junhwe was.

  


It was time for him to act like an adult and not a spoiled brat.

  


“ _I just want you guys to know that it doesn't change anything.”_

Upon seeing the confused faces of the two others, Junhwe added:

“ _I mean that our friendship won't change because you're not human.”_

  


Jinhwan looked surprise but he was smiling like a proud mother. Dongmin on the other side looked completely dumbfounded.

When none of them spoke, Junhwe said again:

“Y _ou've been wolves all this time so.._.”

Even Junhwe was stunned by his words. He sounded too close to an actual proper human being and it made him feel uncomfortable. It came to no surprise when Dongmin burst into laughter and Jinhwan kept on smiling silently.

“ _I never knew you could be this mature dude”,_ Dongmin said, disbelief in his voice as he kept on laughing.

“ _Come on, don't make fun of me, I'm trying to cheer you guys up, you look like you've been to a funeral”,_ Junhwe whined, his ears red in  embarrassment.

“ _We appreciate that, we were nervous as to how you would take it but this is going amazingly smoothly, so, yeah, we're surprised, but also thankful,”_ Jinhwan said as he elbowed Dongmin in the ribs pretty hard to stop his laughter.

He did stop to laugh and started to choke instead.

Junhwe left his best friend in his apparent misery as he struggled to breathe and went on with his questions.

“ _Are there many of you guys?”_

Jinhwan hummed as he thought about it.

“ _I'd say around 40, something like that.”_

“ _In the city of Seoul?”_

“ _No, I meant on the campus.”_

  


Junhwe almost choke on his spit.

“ _What?”_

That was a lot more than he had imagined. With that many wolves attending their school, he probably knew at least 10 more. It also meant that there were actually a lot more Lycoi hidden in the population than what he had thought.

“ _Do I know any other?”_

“ _There's this trio of Japanese exchange students that ate lunch at our table the other day,”_ Dongmin said, his breath finally regular again.

  


Junhwe remembered them, even if he still struggled with their names. It had struck him at that time because Dongmin had never been especially sociable but he had immediately started talking with the girls as soon as they had sat down.

“ _The ones that joined your pack temporarily since they were picked on by the Ice Pack?”_ Jinhwan asked to Dongmin.

“ _Yeah, there's Jaebum as well,”_ Dongmin answered as he mentioned the party so that Junhwe could remember who they were talking about.

“ _Ah, there's this freshman from your pack in your statistics classes, the Alpha you're wary of,”_ Jinhwan said to Dongmin.

“ _Right, Haneul. And there's also Nayeon...”_

  


Junhwe was completely lost. He didn't know half of the people they were talking about and since the details of what wolves lifestyle was like were still yet to come, he had absolutely no idea what they were referring to.

Jinhwan however quickly noticed Junhwe distress and immediately started explaining.

“ _Dongmin and I are from different packs so we don't really know each others' members.”_

“ _What even is a pack?”_

Jinhwan looked stunned by Junhwe's question.

“ _Right, we'll have to start from the basics.”_

Junhwe nodded, feeling utterly stupid under Dongmin's judging stare and Jinhwan's voice full of disbelief.

“ _So, basically, we live in groups, lead by 4 Wolves that share different responsibilities. Those are what we call packs.”_

“ _But if you guys live in packs what are you two doing together when you're not even from the same one?”_

“ _Jinhwan is the Lead Omega from his pack and I am the Lead Alpha from mine. Basically, our job is to make sure our allies are really our allies,”_ Dongmin explained.

“ _Which means that we basically keep an eye on each other to make sure the alliance is real,”_ Jinhwan added with a small smile as he  glanced at Dongmin.

  


Junhwe thought about it for a second. If he understood well, which was quite unlikely, it meant that Dongmin and Jinhwan were in fact not close and that they stayed together only to prevent betrayal.

But didn't they say they knew each other from a long time ago in Jeju Island?

  


“ _You looked confused_ ,” Jinhwan noted.

“ _I am. Aren't you guys close?”_

Dongmin and Jinhwan looked at each other, both wearing an amused smile one their faces.

“ _Yes we are, as Lead from our respective packs it's our duty to make sure the peace is real but it doesn't mean we have to live together as we're doing.”_

“ _We used to be in the same pack in Jeju and we both needed a room-mate.”_

  


Things were still way too blurry for Junhwe to understand perfectly what was going on.

But it was his best friend's life and he wasn't going to give up on understanding what it was truly like for him. He thought about what he should ask and that's when he realised something.

“ _By the way, what's Omega? That's what that psycho called me before shifting and attacking.”_

Junhwe didn't know whether he had asked the wrong thing or not but suddenly the atmosphere grew tense. Jinhwan stopped smiling altogether and Dongmin awkwardly cleared his throat.

“ _Where to start...”_ Dongmin said as he looked warily at Jinhwan who was staring at the ground. “ _You know how women had to fight for their rights because men considered them unable to think? Or how black people were segregated because they had a different skin colour?”_

Junhwe nodded, not really seeing yet where this was going.

  


“ _There is the same thing happening in the Lycos Society right now. There is a war opposing those who think all Lycoi are equal and those who think Alphas are above all.”_

When Dongmin saw that Junhwe looked even more confused than before, he developed the idea.

“ _See, there are three kinds of Lycoi. Omega, Beta and Alpha. There are people who think that Alphas are better and we are_ _currently_ _in a war_ _against_ _them. Seems easier now?”_

“ _Well, I get the general idea but why do they think Alphas are better? What's the difference?”_ Junhwe said, still as confused.

Dongmin looked over at Jinhwan. The elder sighed before talking.

“ _All Lycoi are equal when they are pups. The changes start around what we call 'Ephebia', usually around 10 years old. Your body begins to change and you will slowly start to look like one kind of Lycoi.”_

Jinhwan waited for Junhwe to nod before continuing.

“ _To take Omegas as an example, the pup's fur will be fluffier and of a darker shade than a Beta's or an Alpha's. It will also not grow much compared to the others. Omegas are the smallest of the three kinds.”_

“ _Don't tell me there's a war because Omegas are just tiny wolves,”_ Junhwe said, still trying to understand where the issue was.

“ _Well, no. There are only a few advantages being an Omega. Your scent will be quite discrete when you're not in heat and your ability at smelling other wolves is quite high. It means that Omegas are the best at hiding and they can usually find a way out of trouble.”_

Junhwe nodded again, waiting for the bigger problem that was yet to come.

“ _But it is written in Omegas' nature t_ _o_ _be easily dominated, especially by Alphas as they are the kind of L_ _y_ _coi with the higher domination level_ ,” Jinhwan said, his voice bitter.

“ _Because of this, many Alphas have abused of Omegas and use them as slaves,”_ Dongmin added as he put a comforting hand on Jinhwan's shoulder.

  


Junhwe had thought for a second that the Lycos Society was better than the humans'. He didn't even know how wrong he had been.

“ _But not all Alphas are like that, right?”_ Junhwe then remembered what Dongmin had said about being the Lead something. “ _Aren't you an Alpha, Dongmin?”_

“ _Yeah, I am, but I've not been brainwashed like most of them and I grew in a pack that respected all kinds.”_

  


Junhwe hummed in understanding. He was slowly getting less confused, even if many points had still been left in the dark. He was definitely going to know everything there was to know about Lycoi anyway.

Junhwe was perfectly aware of the fact that he usually tended to be an idiot but he wasn't going to walk away from his best friend just because he was different. The only option he had was to know more about his world.

And that was what he had planned on doing.

  


“ _What about you guys show me the Lycos life?”_

Both men stared at Junhwe, visibly just as confused as the other.

“ _What does that even mean?”_

“ _Well I don't know, introduce me to the pack, let me be with you when you're in your wolves form...Don't you guys live in woods? Couldn't you show me around?”_

  


Junhwe thought for a second that he had insulted them based on how shocked they both were. Dongmin's eyes had tripled in size and his mouth hung open. Jinhwan was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing much like a drowning fish's.

“ _Is there a problem?”_

“ _Well, I guess we just didn't expect you to be so understandable of all this_ ,” Jinhwan said, still stunned.

“ _Did you think I was going to say that you guys are monsters and then run away?”_

  


Junhwe felt particularly hurt when no answer came but instead they both glanced at each other, looking quite guilty. Junhwe wanted to feel betrayed or at least a bit angry but all he could think was that it was all he deserved. He had been quite a shallow and judgmental moron, and he definitely was going to act like that again some time.

So he just sighed and asked again:

“ _So it's a no?”_

“ _Well, I don't know. My pack will definitely want to meet you as soon as possible but for Jinhwan's it might be a bit harder.”_

Junhwe raised a questioning brow.

“ _We are in the middle of the war and we are actively fighting on the fronts so I'm not sure they would have time for that, plus, the heat is coming,”_ Jinhwan explained.

To say the truth, Junhwe was quite worried. He had offered to meet other Lycoi but just thinking of being around hundreds of wolves in a dark forest at night was quite scary.

Junhwe's thoughts must have shown on his face because Dongmin quickly added:

“ _But it’s fine, my pack is quite a new one so we're less than 20 and we're all around the same age. It won't be too intimidating, don't worry.”_

Junhwe only nodded, not really convinced.

Suddenly remembering what he had been doing before all this, he quickly looked at the clock on the wall.

It was nearing 4pm, he had skipped 2 of his main classes and he was hungry as hell.

Dongmin followed Junhwe's line of sight and he sighed as soon as he saw the time.

“ _I love history of psychology...”_

“ _Too bad we missed our two hours then_ ,” Junhwe said ironically.

There was no courses he liked in particular, but among the ones he hated the most, history of psychology was ranked quite high.

He didn't really care, he could always ask someone to lend him their notes. All he wanted was to eat.

He hadn't finished his popsicle after all.

  


Before Junhwe could manifest his hunger, however, his stomach made a rumbling noise, alerting both Dongmin and Jinhwan before he could voice it.

“ _You know what, I'll cook you guys something. Meanwhile, Junhwe you should rest. Dongmin, be useful and go buy vegetables please.”_

Dongmin was about to complain but the glare he received as soon as he had opened his mouth made him quickly close it.

Junhwe had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

  


_Some things don't change._

  


  


  


And so, Jinhwan started cutting down the ingredients as soon as Dongmin had left the apartment.

Junhwe was about to enter Dongmin's room when he decided otherwise. What would he do in the room on his own in the middle of the complete mess that it was in? Not much.

So he decided that watching Jinhwan intently while he was cooking was a better way of spending his time.

He walked back into the kitchen, sneakily, wanting to watch Jinhwan in silence without the elder noticing.

  


“ _Do you think you're being discrete?”_

Junhwe almost had a heart attack when Jinhwan suddenly turned around and stared straight in Junhwe's eyes with a smirk.

“ _Don't tell me that your senses are heightened.”_

“ _Well, sorry, but they are.”_

Junhwe sighed. Many things made more sense now. Like how Jinhwan had known all along that he was being watched, or how he had known when Dongmin was about to arrive home, or the day before when he had been waiting for Junhwe in the music room.

“ _Do you guys have any other super powers or is that it?”_

“ _Well, we can't fly, or move objects without touching them sorry,”_ Jinhwan joked as he went back to his cooking.

“ _Please tell me you can't read minds.”_

When Jinhwan made a stop to think his answer through, Junhwe felt his heart stop. If they could, he was utterly doomed.

“ _We can't really 'read', but depending on what you're feeling, the scent changes and it spikes up or down.”_

Junhwe's heart started beating faster.

“ _Like what kind of feeling?”_

“ _Like right now your scent is becoming sweeter and stronger, so you're embarrassed.”_

Junhwe felt his face heat up.

“ _Don't worry though, not every Lycos will be able to smell slight changes like that. It's because I'm an Omega that I can make out the subtle differences.”_

“ _Dongmin can?”_

“ _Dongmin is probably the Lycos with the worst sense of scent I have ever met. He wasn't lucky on that part. I mean, he's tall, he has lot of muscle and he's got everything to be a great Alpha but he can't even make out the difference between kinds at times.”_

Well, at least it meant he had only one person he needed to feel humiliated with.

Jinhwan had probably been able to smell every single time Junhwe's heart had began beating faster like some crushing high school girl. He felt like dying of embarrassment.

“ _Please tell me this is the last super power you guys have.”_

Jinhwan closed his eyes and thought hard about it for a second.

“ _We don't experience pain the same way you do. Well that's what I was told, I don't know how it's like for humans.”_

Junhwe was confused.

“ _What does that even mean?”_

“ _Well, if we get hurt, like a cut or something, it feels like a burning sensation but it goes away within a minute. Your mother told me that what we felt was ten times stronger for humans.”_

It seemed so odd to Junhwe that he had trouble really understanding what all this meant. The pain experienced by Lycoi was ten times fainter than what Junhwe would feel. It seemed surreal. It meant that even if they were to get badly hurt, they wouldn't feel it much.

“ _You look confused, once more.”_

“ _I am, once more.”_

Jinhwan chuckled. “ _It's not surprising.”_

Jinhwan took the frying pan away from the fire and he put the eggs he had been cooking in the plates that were already set down on the kitchen table.

“ _You can go sit down, Dongmin will be there in less than 10 seconds.”_

As soon as Junhwe drew the chair out, the apartment door opened and Dongmin entered the room, bags full of vegetables, his nose and ears red from the cold.

“ _I_ _t's so cold for early December”_ , Dongmin whined as he sat down next to Junhwe and put the vegetables on the table.

Jinhwan simply nodded before taking out some salad and bread. He then sat down and started eating straight away. Junhwe took his fork in his hand and he was about to eat some of the egg's white when he heard an actual snarl on his left.

He wiped his head in the direction of the sound, feeling his heartbeat pick up once more.

Dongmin was staring at his hand which held the fork, his teeth bared just like a wolf's.

“ _Come on, Dongmin, it's Junhwe's first time eating with the three of us. He doesn't know, stop growling”,_ Jinhwan said as he took a bite from his piece of bread.

Junhwe looked from Dongmin's still bared teeth to Jinhwan's relaxed posture.

Had he just been threatened by his best friend without anyone caring? Junhwe's heart was still beating fast because of the sudden fear he had experienced. Jinhwan must have felt, or smelt, it as he soon spoke up.

“ _Usually the main Omega eats first, then it's the main Alpha, followed suit by the Lead Omega, the Lead Alpha and the rest of the pack eats at the same time_ ,” he explained as he finished his piece of bread.

Only when Jinhwan had put down his fork did Dongmin pick up his own.

“ _Don't take it personally, it's just like a nerve twitch for him to warn you not to start eating before I do.”_

“ _He just snarled at me and that's all you're saying?”_

  


Jinhwan and Dongmin's eyebrows both shot up in surprise. They looked completely confused and lost. They looked over at each other in silence, visibly at loss for words.

“ _I mean, it's like Dongmin basically warning he's going to bite me, right? I mean, yeah, you probably wouldn't have bitten my arms off in your human form, but still. It's like a death threat, come on.”_

Junhwe felt stupid. Dongmin was trying to hold his ribs because of how loud he was laughing and Jinhwan's face was painted with disbelief as if he couldn't comprehend Junhwe's sentence because of how utterly retarded it was.

“ _A snarl is not a threat, I mean, not in this case.”_

“ _There are different types of snarl. Like it depends on the position of the body, the tail, the ears, the domination used...”_ Dongmin trailed off, still laughing like a maniac.

Junhwe felt his cheeks reddening. “ _How could I have possibly known that?”_

Dongmin and Jinhwan looked at each other.

“ _Well, yeah, you couldn't have.”_

“ _Don_ _'_ _t worry,”_ Jinhwan added, “W _e will teach you everything there is to know on a wolf's body language. It's always useful if you get attacked again. For now, just eat, and go to sleep.”_

Junhwe made a face. It was not even 8pm yet.

“ _I know, it's early, but you need to rest,”_ Jinhwan added at Junhwe's pout.

So Junhwe just nodded and started eating up after making sure he was now allowed to.

  


  


  


A few hours later, Junhwe was comfortably tucked in Dongmin's bed, ready to sleep.

Yet he couldn't.

His mind was too full of many things.

He had to repeat a few times to himself that Lycoi were a thing and that his best friend was in fact one in order to really believe it. Everything seemed too odd, as if he was going to wake up from a too realistic dream and everything would go back to normal.

It would be a lie if Junhwe said that he didn't wish it was the case. It would be a lot easier if the whole thing had just been a huge joke or a dream. He knew it wasn't the case though.

The rushing mix of feeling Junhwe was experiencing was so complicated, for him who had never really cared about anything in life, that he couldn’t find any adjective strong enough to describe it.

He was scared. Scared because he could have died. Scared because getting attacked randomly like this could happen again. Scared because his life, he knew, was going to change drastically now that he was aware of the Lycoi's existence.

He was also thankful. Dongmin had saved his life and he had entrusted him with their secret. They had faith in him, they trusted him, and Junhwe felt sad thinking about how hard it must have been for Dongmin and Jinhwan to live along a different specie than their own for so long. Junhwe could have never guessed. Hiding who you really are must be hard, especially for Dongmin who had been with Junhwe for so long.

Junhwe sighed. He was slowly getting depressed thinking about how his own best friend had probably been feeling alone, without anyone to talk to about his condition for the past 7 years.

He was getting nowhere with this kind of thinking so Junhwe just momentarily gave up on using his brain. He rolled on his side and he closed his eyes.

  


  


  


  


  


December 10th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


The first thing Junhwe did when he woke was to look at his arm.

For a second he hoped that the bandage wouldn't be there, that the gash wouldn't hurt like hell and that the Lycoi had been a dream.

But the bandage was there, and he was hurting.

So Junhwe got up, looked at the clock and sighed when he realised it was only 7am, which was way too early for a Saturday Morning on which he had no courses.

He dragged himself lazily out of Dongmin's bedroom and walked into the living-room. The curtains were drawn open but it was too early on a December morning for the sun to already start rising and so, the apartment was pitch black. The room was cold and Junhwe wondered how Dongmin managed to sleep like this.

He glanced at the couch and then he understood. Dongmin wasn't sleeping. He wasn't there.

He had no idea where in the world his best friend could have possibly went on a cold morning like this at 7 am, but Junhwe was sure that Dongmin was a masochist.

What were the odds for Jinhwan to be still at home, sleeping in his bed?

Junhwe wasn't a creep, really. He was just curious as to what Jinhwan's sleeping face would look like. So he silently walked up to Jinhwan's door and although he had made sure to be as quiet as possible, it did occur to him that if Jinhwan was up, he had probably heard him anyway.

It was with a beating heart that Junhwe slowly pushed the door open, praying every God he knew for Jinhwan to not be up already.

Junhwe couldn't hide his disappointment when he opened the door to an empty room.

Jinhwan had also left.

  


It meant he wasn't going to see Jinhwan's sleeping face today.

It meant that he had the opportunity to get a look inside Jinhwan's room today.

  


Junhwe was perfectly aware of the fact that he was invading the elder's privacy by walking into his room without his permission, but he was just too curious.

So he entered the room. He left the door open, just in case he had to quickly rush away if any of the two other men were to come back home.

The room smelt nice. A lot nicer than what Junhwe would like to admit.

It smelt just like Jinhwan's hoodie, or just like when Junhwe had hugged the elder the day before, but a lot stronger. A sweet familiar mix between honey and coffee that was so utterly like Jinhwan that Junhwe felt his ears reddening at the memory of his nose buried in the elder's neck.

  


The room was in fact quite big. The double bed, although it was huge, left enough space for a desk and chair on which many books were piled up next to a laptop.

There was an empty coffee mug next to it and in his sudden urge to feel like he wasn't just standing in the room with no purpose, Junhwe picked it up and walked back into the kitchen, after closing the door to Jinhwan's room, to put it down in the sink.

Junhwe thanked the skies for his sudden kindness because a soon as he had put the mug down, both Jinhwan and Dongmin entered the apartment. A second later and Junhwe would have experienced the most awkward moment of his life.

He quickly walked back in the living room, trying to act as cool as he could.

“ _Good morning you two.”_

“ _Good morning Junhwe"_ , Jinhwan answered with a smile as he walked into the kitchen. “ _Does anyone want coffee?”_ He then asked from the other room.

“ _Yes please_ ,” Dongmin answered as he stared at Junhwe with a smirk.

Junhwe gulped. Dongmin couldn't possibly know, could he?

“ _What were you going up so early?”_ He asked teasingly.

  


That's when Junhwe remembered that exploring Jinhwan's room had not been the purpose of his morning journey.

“ _My arm hurt, I was going to take some pills for the pain in the bathroom and then you guys came back.”_

Dongmin looked awfully concerned and worried. Junhwe almost felt bad. He was being a cry-baby, honestly. The cut wasn't that big and didn't really hurt too much. Just a slight feeling of constant burn but it wasn't that unbearable.

“ _You should ask Jinhwan to check how it's doing, just in case,”_ Dongmin said.

And so Junhwe left the living room and walked into the kitchen. Jinhwan was busy taking out the mugs and brewing coffee.

When Junhwe saw Jinhwan taking his mug out of the sink, he knew he had messed up.

The elder looked at his mug for a second, then at Junhwe. He put it down in the counter and walked up to his bedroom door. He opened it, walked in, breathed in, and walked out. Jinhwan looked straight into Junhwe's eyes, a smile on his lips as he closed the door and resumed what he had been doing.

Junhwe was frozen in his place. He could feel his face heating up and his ears reddening.

Jinhwan knew.

  


“ _Would you like a coffee as well Junhwe?”_ He asked with a smirk as he started pouring some in his own mug.

“ _No thank you”,_ Junhwe mumbled, embarrassed, as he quickly left the room and sat at the living room table with Dongmin. His arm could wait.

When Jinhwan entered the room and sat down right across the room less than ten seconds later, Junhwe realised that this wasn't going to be the end of it.

Before Jinhwan could try to , Dongmin spoke up, and thus saved Junhwe's dignity.

“ _Junhwe said his arm hurts.”_

Jinhwan hummed as he sipped on his coffee. “ _I'll take a look at it_ _as soon as_ _we're finished.”_

Dongmin nodded and started drinking up his coffee as well.

After a few seconds of silence, Dongmin spoke again.

“ _We went to talk with our packs this morning, Jinhwan and I.”_

Junhwe nodded. It didn’t really come as a surprise since he knew they had things to talk over. A human being aware of Lycoi wasn’t a common thing.

“ _They all would love to meet you, but the timing is a bit off_ ,” Jinhwan said.

“ _The mating season has already started and Omegas are going to be in heat soon,”_ Dongmin added.

No matter how well informed Junhwe was on wolves' mating cycle - which was quite close to zero - he had absolutely no idea as to how it worked for Lycoi. But it was an awkward question to ask and he didn't really dare to.

But thankfully, he didn't have to as Dongmin started explaining.

“ _The very beginning of the season starts around early November, that's when couples get formed. Then those couple mate in late December during which Omegas enter their heat.”_

“ _I assure you you really do not wish to know more about this_ ,” Jinhwan said as his ears reddened.

Knowing the basics of heats for animals, Junhwe could only let his mind imagine what would the effect would be on half-human beings. He felt his face heating up quickly.

“ _Although Alphas are starting to grow restless, Beta are completely unaffected and Omegas won't be in heat before at least another two weeks,”_ Jinhwan said as he finished his mug and went in the kitchen to wash it.

Dongmin then clarified.

“ _It basically means that you can meet some of the members of my pack next week if you want to but not after Christmas, we'll probably be around the mating day.”_

Junhwe thought about it for a second. He wasn't in a rush to meet other Lycoi but he didn't want to wait after Christmas. As long as it was safe for him to meet Lycoi so close to the actual mating time, then he was fine with it.

That's when he picked up a small detail.

“ _Only your pack?”_

Dongmin looked bothered.

“ _Well, actually it's Jinhwan's first mating season with this pack. He joined them this year in January and it's quite important for the pack to be together and cut off from the others if it's a new member's first time.”_

Those were things that were too complicated for Junhwe to understand, so he didn't even try to ask for details. He simply nodded.

“ _Then I guess I'll meet some of your pack members next week.”_

Dongmin's eyes lit up like a child's.

“ _You're really willing to meet them for real?”_ He said, disbelief written all over his face.

“ _Well, yeah,”_ Junhwe said, feeling quite proud of himself for making his best friend so happy.

Dongmin smiled with delight. He hopped joyfully to the kitchen to put his mug in the sink and came back less than five seconds later, his grin still as big.

“ _Don't you think you could invite him next time you guys go in the woods?”_ Jinhwan said as he came back in the living room and walked into the bathroom to get the first-aid kit.

Dongmin looked like a child on Christmas day.

“ _That's the best idea you've ever had_ ,” he said enthusiastically.

But then his smile dropped. He looked over at Junhwe, puppy eyes out.

“ _But Junhwe won't want to...”_

“ _I don't even know what you're talking about,”_ Junhwe said, unsure.

“ _We often go run in the woods for fun and_ _it_ _could have been nice if you came... But you'll be the only human in the middle of Lycoi.”_

  


Junhwe imagined the scene for a second. Wolves running all around, having fun, playing together and then him, standing in the middle of the woods with nothing to do but watch animals all day. It did indeed not sound like the best day of Junhwe's life. But it would make his one and only best friend happy. His Lycos best friend.

So Junhwe shut down his bitchy side that was already thinking of how tiring it was going to be and just nodded.

For the second time of the day, Dongmin looked utterly and completely pleased.

“ _Man, Nice Junhwe is definitely the best, even if I'm starting to miss the sassy one,”_ Dongmin said as he went to hug Junhwe.

But he was quickly pushed away with an elbow in the ribs.

“ _Fuck you dude, I was trying to be all mature and stuff.”_

  


They both laughed wholeheartedly.

Everything was still like before.

They were still best friends, no matter what.

(6374 words)


	4. Mislaying

December 16th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


  


  


The next few days had felt a lot fuller than they had had for the past 19 years of Junhwe's life. Indeed, discovering his best friend's secret had changed some details in his daily routine.

Since both Dongmin and Jinhwan could now be entirely comfortable in Junhwe's presence, they would often be a lot more wolf-like, even around him. If Junhwe had been disturbed when Dongmin had snarled at him, he had been even more surprised when he had heard Jinhwan literally howl one evening.

Everything was so different from how Junhwe's life had been so far and yet, it didn't really disturb him. He was still scared and confused, but not as much as before. 

He had had a phone call with his mother a few days ago. She had seemed quite distressed and worried but they had managed to talk it out. They were to meet up on the next Monday, the first day of holidays, so that she could explain things to Junhwe.

A week had passed by and during that time, Junhwe had had enough time to reflect on the peculiar events that had suddenly happened in his life. Now that the pieces had been put together, a lot of weird occurrences made a lot more sense.

His mother being often at work because of hurt animals was in fact his mother being caught up in a Lycos war, trying to help as many Lycoi as she could. Dongmin had hid the fact that he was living with Jinhwan because it led to many more questions such as how they had met. And more importantly, they both weren't in fact into some weird sect whose members loved randomly smelling people.

But even if it did answer Junhwe's questions regarding the mysteries that had happened recently in his life, it also brought its load of problems.

He was now a lot more exposed to attacks as it had happened a few days ago in that fateful dark alley-way. But Junhwe was willing to take that risk. He wanted to know more about his best friend's true nature even if that meant getting wrapped up in a war.

A few days back, Junhwe had discussed with Dongmin the eventuality of meeting his pack members and although Dongmin had said it would be quite hard to find a good timing, he had somehow managed.

  


Junhwe was drinking his last sip of a coffee Jinhwan had brewed especially for him when an overly excited Dongmin entered the living-room, hair still wet from his shower.

“ _I just had a phone call with the Main Alpha and we worked something out.”_

Junhwe lazily got up from his chair and put the mug – Jinhwan's – down in the sink. He let out a yawn before gesturing for Dongmin to go on.

“ _He said that we're going in the woods this week-end and you can come with us if you want to.”_

Junhwe sighed. When Dongmin said 'week-end', it meant 'tomorrow'. 

  


It was 9 am, on a Friday morning, Junhwe was about to go take his first course of the day and the last thing he wanted to think about was the fact that he was probably going to sacrifice precious hours of sleep for the sake of frolicking with a horde of wolves.

But he had said he would go with them. So he nodded and went into Dongmin's room to get dressed and change his bandage. Junhwe didn't really mind sports, it wasn't that much of a bother for him to walk or run in woods even if he wasn't really fond of being all sweaty and dirty. What bothered him more was the fact that he was going to be the only human, and among all the Lycoi that would be there, he would only know Dongmin.

He didn't even know how many of them would be there, but Junhwe was already growing worried. He knew that Dongmin wouldn't have offered if he wasn't sure Junhwe was completely safe, but still, those were wolves.

Wolves could kill. 

And Junhwe was still scared thinking of how easily he would have died if Dongmin had not saved him.

  


  


When Junhwe came in the living room ten minutes later now dressed and a new band-aid over his arm, both Jinhwan and Dongmin were nowhere to be found. It didn't really came to a surprise as he now knew that if they weren't home, they were in what they called ''the den'' where their respective pack met.

But Junhwe was quickly growing late and he had no time for subtleties. So he just rushed out of the apartment, his hair still a mess and his teeth not brushed.

  


When he arrived at his bus stop, he quickly realised that he had been a lot more late than he had thought he was. He could see a bus driving away on the main road. Bus which was in fact the one he had been supposed to take to go to school. Bus which only came around every hour.

Junhwe sat down at the bus stop's bench and sighed.

He was going to miss his first hour of practical researches which was to be given by his new teacher, the one replacing his former teacher on a pregnancy leave.

What a great first impression.

  


The biggest problem was that during practical courses, they usually left the building and went into town to do researches, which is why it was called practical researches.

But Junhwe, being the antisocial idiot he was, didn't know anyone in his practical researches he could ask where they were going this time.

He had two hours. If he was late to the first one, there was no point going at all.

  


But, well, he had two hours of History of psychology the afternoon anyway.

And so, this was Junhwe's plan. He was going to skip his practical course, because there was no way he could attend it since he had missed his bus.

He should be at school around 11, which meant that he had 3 hours left before he would have to attend his History of psychology course.

  


During those three hours, he was going to need around hour to eat during lunch break.

Then what could he do of the two hours he had left?

  


Junhwe thought that going to the second building's music room was a great idea.

Because Jinwhan was most likely going to be there and Junhwe did like Jinhwan's company, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud.

And so, Junhwe happily hummed during the entire bus ride when it finally arrived an hour later.

  


As soon as he entered the main yard, he started walking toward the second building, not even bothering to check whether his class was still there or not. He walked up the stairs as fast as he could manage and almost ran to what he was now calling Jinhwan's music room. He waited for a few seconds, trying to calm his heartbeat down as he knew Jinhwan would notice his excitement based on his smell.

He took a deep breath, smoothed down his hair with his hand and pressed the doorknob down.

  


Junhwe couldn't hide his disappointment when the door didn't budge at all. It was locked.

Jinhwan wasn't there.

  


Junhwe sighed deeply. He had now absolutely nothing to do for the next three hours. He decided, just in case, to walk up to the meeting point of the practical courses to check if they were still there, which was quite unlikely as it was now 10:45. 

Junhwe left the second building, a lot less high-spirited than he had been less than a minute ago. As he took the last corner before the meeting point, he ran into a boy around his age whose face was looking quite familiar.

Junhwe would have had more time to pounder on who it was if he hadn't _literally_ ran into him.

He held back a moan of pain as his hurt arm bumped again the other boy's hard chest.

  


Junhwe looked down at the slightly shorter boy. His face did look familiar and it took less than a split second for Junhwe to remember that the boy was in fact taking the same practical courses as Junhwe did.

He looked at the boy's honey eyes which were almost covered by a too long pitch black fringe and he saw the internal debate the boy was having.

He looked half angry and half confused. His lips pulled up into what looked like a snarl as if he was ready to scream at Junhwe for bumping into him but he looked so utterly confused that Junhwe didn’t dare moving and thus they stayed for a while looking at each other in complete silence.

Then, the boy finally spoke, his eyes never leaving Junhwe's.

  


“ _You're Koo Junhwe, aren't you?”_

  


Junhwe first thought it was normal for the boy to know his name since they had 2 hours a week of practical researches together.

But then he remembered that he didn't know his.

So he just awkwardly nodded, hoping for the boy to introduce himself otherwise it would be really embarrassing to ask for it himself.

The other boy then looked a lot more relaxed and less angry than he had been a second before.

“ _Nice to meet you, I'm Haneul. Dongmin can't keep quiet about you when he's in the den.”_

Junhwe thanked the heavens. The boy had introduced himself and thus saved Junhwe from a ton load of embarrassment. 

But then Junhwe realised what he had said.

This boy was a Lycos.

Before Junhwe could find anything to say, Haneul spoke up.

“ _I'm sorry for running into you, is your arm alright?”_

He looked so sorry and concerned that Junhwe didn't have the heart to be bitchy about it. So he just nodded and stared back with as little sass as he could manage into the other boy's clear eyes.

Junhwe then bitterly noted than Haneul was in fact far too handsome for his liking. Even if he had a few centimetres on him, the other boy wasn't short at all and looked quite muscular.

Junhwe was going to lose faith in himself if all Lycoi were either as tall as Dongmin, as cute as Jinhwan or as handsome as Haneul.

  


“ _What were you doing here anyway?”_ Haneul then asked, bringing Junhwe's gaze back up to his own from where it had been stuck on the boy's thighs.

“ _I missed the bus so I was late to_ _the_ _practical_ _course_ ,” Junhwe explained, feeling his ears reddening.

Thankfully, Haneul didn't seem to notice as he just nodded before saying:

“ _Do you have anything to do?”_

  


Junhwe didn't in fact have anything to do for the next 3 hours but he felt like if he said that, Haneul was going to invite him to something or ask him to go with him.

And Junhwe wasn't fond of social interaction, even less if it was with a non-human being he had just met.

  


Before he could come up with something however, Haneul added:

“ _Because if you don't, we could hang out for a bit.”_

  


Junhwe didn't know what to answer. He didn't really want to, but he kind of had to.

This boy was a friend of Dongmin. And he could be going to their little escapade in the woods tomorrow. And if he knew someone else beside Dongmin, things would probably be less awkward.

So, even if wanted everything but to spend time with a complete stranger, Junhwe said yes.

  


  


  


If he had been quite reluctant at first, he was definitely not regretting his choice. The other boy was his age so they could be entirely comfortable around each other and they quickly found a topic: their common hate for studies.

Haneul had in fact willingly skipped the practical researches course, which explained why he was still on the school grounds.

They both were taking Psychology courses and they both hated it. While Junhwe had taken it because his mother had wanted him to, Haneul had just randomly picked it out because he had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do. Luckily for him, he understood quite well as he managed to get good grades - _Not in Statistics though, I suck_ , he had said - but he hated waking up early and most of his classes were on mornings.

Which had led him to skip most of his practical researches throughout the year and thus the two of them had never really talked together.

Haneul was a good lad, funny to be around and easy to talk to and even if Junhwe didn't like talking all that much, he was having quite a good time.

The good part of this unexpected meeting was that Junhwe did feel a lot more at ease now that he had made friends with another Lycos. It meant that tomorrow, there would be at least two persons he could be comfortable around, and that was already better than just Dongmin.

Without even realising it, they had already been talking in the cafeteria for more than an hour and they were both starting to get hungry.

  


And so, they both stood up and walked up to the counter to get their meal. 

When they sat back down, their plates full of food, Junhwe then thought that he usually ate with Dongmin on Fridays and that his best friend was thus probably going to arrive in the cafeteria in a minute.

Junhwe smiled lightly when he thought about how happy Dongmin would be when he would see him with another Lycos, being all friendly.

It was so unlike him that even Junhwe was surprised at his unusual gregariousness. 

  


Junhwe was about to dig in, when he remembered what had happened the last time he had eaten with Lycoi. Maybe Haneul was one of those who was to eat first, and Junhwe had absolutely no desire to get growled at once more.

“ _Err, do I have to eat after you?”_ He asked awkwardly.

Haneul's fork stopped mid air as he stared at Junhwe for a few seconds. He looked a bit puzzled for a few seconds, then he smiled sweetly.

“ _That's very nice of you to be so respectful of our traditions but as I am a mere Alpha of our pack, you can eat freely when you are with me_ ,” he said as he took his first bite of steak.

Junhwe nodded as he dug in immediately, he was starving.

He also quickly noted the fact that Haneul was also an alpha, just like Dongmin and he thought with amusement that they were both kind of alike. Easygoing and funny, and not bad to look at as a bonus to their great personality.

If Junhwe was envious, he didn't say anything about it. He knew he had the kind of personality people would usually qualify as terrible and beside being tall, he didn't really have anything for him. Not that he cared as he had no one to attract, of course.

  


After few minutes of silence filled with munching noises, another plate finally joined their table. Junhwe was expecting to see Dongmin sitting down next to Haneul and was thus very confused when he realised it was another boy he had never seen before.

He had a youthful look, making him look like a high school student. He was quite short and the overall vibe of cute he was giving was reinforced by his squishy red cheeks and button nose. His smile was so big that his eyes were disappearing into crescents and Junhwe couldn't help but see Jinhwan's cuteness in the other boy.

“ _Hi Jimin_ _ie_ _,”_ Haneul said with a cute smile.

“ _You call me Hyung when we are in public, you punk,”_ the other boy said as he sat down and looked intently at Junhwe.

Junhwe, for once, wasn't confused. If the two  of them were so casual, then the newcomer was most likely a Lycos as well, and more precisely from Dongmin's pack. Which meant that he was also a friend of Dongmin and that just like  Haneul , he had probably heard about him as well.

“ _Koo Junhwe_ ,” he said, introducing himself anyway just in case.

“ _I figured,”_ the boy said with an adorable eye-smile. _“I'm Park Jimin, but Hyung is fine.”_

  


Junhwe had thought the boy was younger. But Jimin was not a boy, and he was in fact older.

Junhwe's confusion must have shown on his face because Haneul started laughing like a madman while Jimin tried to choke him to death.

“ _You don't need to call him Hyung, he's too_ _shor..._ _,”_ Haneul said, his sentence cut short by Jimin's hands on his throat..

Just as Jimin was about to kill Haneul with his bare hands, Dongmin sat down next to Junhwe. The two other men suddenly shut up and immediately sat straighter.

Dongmin looked angry, and Junhwe had absolutely no idea why. He had thought his best friend would be delighted to know that Junhwe was trying to get closer to his lifestyle and society by making friends with Lycoi from his pack, which was obviously not the case.

“ _May I know what the is going on in here?”_

Jimin looked down and gulped, visibly intimidated. Haneul however was still looking straight in Dongmin's eyes as he answered cheekily:

“ _Is that your business in any way?”_

Junhwe could almost see the fire in Dongmin's eyes.

“ _It's my business when it's related to my best friend.”_

  


They both looked so ready to tear each other's throat that Junhwe was almost expecting them to shift right in the middle of the now crowded cafeteria.

Jimin brought a hand to Haneul's shoulder and whispered soothing words to him, trying to calm him down, but they were both still glaring at each other.

A few more seconds of awkward silence and tense atmosphere went by before Haneul finally averted his eyes and started eating again.

  


None of them spoke for the next ten minutes, each boy focused on their own plate.

Junhwe was confused. He knew that Dongmin could be impulsive sometimes but he never got angry without a reason. It wasn’t even like him to swear that much.

But Junhwe couldn't find a reason. Maybe they had done something they shouldn't based on the Lycoi traditions? But if it had been the case, Haneul would have probably told him.

  


As soon as he had finished his plate, Jimin stood up and bid them goodbye before rushing out of the room. When the latter he was out of ear reach, Haneul spoke again.

“ _If Yoongi gets to know that you used dominance over Jiminie, you're dead.”_

Junhwe had no idea if Haneul had meant that figuratively or not, but in both case that Yoongi guy sure didn't seem like a fun lad to be around. However, the way the sentence was turned suggested that it was Dongmin's fault and Junhwe didn't like that at all.

Even if Junhwe didn't know everything there was to know about Lycoi, he had understood that Alphas could easily dominate other wolves and that it wasn't a good thing.

Junhwe guessed that it was what Dongmin had just done.

“ _If you hadn't made me use it then Jimin would have had to suffer from the collateral damages.”_

“ _So now it's my fault that you're unable to control basic Alpha skills?”_

Junhwe didn't like where this was going at all. They were both completely ignoring him and the rest of the cafeteria and the only thing that seemed to matter to them was to win this childish battle.

Even if all Junhwe wanted was to calm them both down and leave with Dongmin to have a small chat, he was a bit scared for his life.

The first thing his mother had taught him about canines was that if a fight was to occur, they would attack anything that came at them, even in worst cases their owners. She had meant dogs, but Junhwe didn't want to risk it.

  


Thankfully, Jinhwan chose this exact moment to arrive.

If Dongmin had looked angry, Jinhwan was completely furious.

“ _You, whatever your name is_ ,” he said as he glared at Haneul, _“_ _Y_ _ou leave right now before I make you move myself.”_

With a last growl, Haneul stood up and left the cafeteria, not without glaring at both Jinhwan and Dongmin.

“ _Now, Junhwe, please go to your classroom, I need to have a talk with that one_ ,” Jinhwan said as he dragged Dongmin away with him.

  


  


That lunch break sure had been eventful.

Junhwe walked to his classroom in silence, too shook to think about anything.

  


Only when he was finally seated, waiting for his teacher five minutes later did he try to figure out what had happened.

  


He had met another Lycos, Haneul. Funny lad, good-looking, nothing out of the ordinary.

Then they had talked, they got along pretty well and Junhwe was pretty sure he could now consider Haneul as a friend, or a least someone he didn't loathe like the rest of humanity.

And then they had gotten hungry and went to eat lunch. Jimin _Hyung_ , had arrived, they had talked for a bit. Good guy as well, so far so good.

But then Dongmin had sat down with them, looking more angry than Junhwe had ever seen him. He had no idea why and the only way he had to know what to have a chat with Dongmin. 

And so, Junhwe waited for the start of the lesson because it also meant that he would be together with Dongmin for two hours straight and it was the perfect occasion for him to talk with his best friend about that.

Because for now, it was quite blurry in Junhwe's mind.

Dongmin had been angry at Haneul for an unknown reason. Haneul had gotten angry at Dongmin because the other's mood had had an impact on Jimin, and that wasn't a good thing. Then Jinhwan had been angry at both of them and Junhwe didn't know why.

No matter how hard he thought about it and how unbiased he tried to be, all he could see was that it was Dongmin's fault. But until he had a real talk with his best friend, he was definitely not going to judge anyone based on mere speculations.

  


It didn't seem, however, like he was going to talk with Dongmin any time soon.

The lesson had started 30 minutes ago and Dongmin was still not there. Junhwe knew that Dongmin hated being late and he would never skip lessons, even back in high school. Junhwe was starting to grow worried. He had discretely sent a text to Dongmin as soon as the teacher had looked elsewhere but an answer was still yet to come.

Another 30 minutes of Junhwe's restlessness growing more present and the first hour was finished. When the bell rang, Junhwe got up and left the room without even waiting for the teacher to tell them whether they could have a break or not.

He dialled Dongmin's number and prayed for his best friend to pick his phone up, but he didn't. He left a vocal message and sent another text.

Junhwe knew he was being a push-over. After all, it wasn't like Dongmin was in any real danger. Jinhwan wasn't going to eat him – or was he?

And so he walked back into the classroom and sat down at his desk, ignoring the glare the teacher was giving him.

  


During the second hour, Junhwe tried to be more focused than he had been during the first one. He really hated History of psychology but he knew it was Dongmin's favourite subject and he also knew that if he didn't take any notes for Dongmin, his best friend was definitely going to wail for hours.

And so, Junhwe diligently wrote down everything the teacher was saying and he paid extra attention to his handwriting. He was going to ask at least 1kg of ice cream to reward such hard work.

  


When the second bell announcing Junhwe's newly retrieved freedom rang, he immediately rushed out of the room and ran through the corridors to get out as soon as possible before he could get stuck in the mob of students leaving through the main yard.

  


In less than 5 minutes, he was at the bus stop, ready to hop in as soon as it would arrive.

He quickly checked his phone, but there was still no sign of life from anyone.

Junhwe sighed before walking into the bus when it parked in front of him.

  


  


When Junhwe entered the apartment’s living-room, he was met with one of the most peculiar sight he had ever been confronted to.

What he now knew to be Dongmin in his wolf form was sitting on its rear and was looking straight at the floor like a grounded child. In front of him, Jinhwan, speaking to Dongmin in a harsh voice, visibly reprimanding him vehemently.

Junhwe was awkwardly standing in the door frame, not sure as to what to do. Even if Jinhwan was cute, right now he was plain scary and Junhwe did not want to be the subject of the older man's apparent wrath.

  


A few seconds of awkward standing later, Jinhwan stopped his speech and looked up to Junhwe. Noticing the older man's change of focus, Dongmin turned around and ran up to his best friend.

The wolf rubbed its shoulder on Junhwe's thigh affectively and Junhwe awkwardly ran his finger through Dongmin's silky dark fur without even thinking.

“ _Don't you dare go and cry into Junhwe' arms. You go in your room and reflect on your actions for a while_ ,” Jinhwan said as he walked up to Dongmin's room and opened the door with such strength that it bumped violently against the wall.

Dongmin whimpered at the loud sound and walked slowly into his room, his head hanging low.

As soon as Dongmin was in his room, Jinhwan closed the door harshly and walked back into the kitchen, asking for Junhwe to follow him along.

  


Once they were both seated at the table, Jinhwan sighed deeply before he started talking.

“ _I'm sorry that you had to witness this kind of thing.”_

Junhwe didn't really know what he could answer to that, so he just nodded.

“ _Dongmin has been telling me how much of a hard time he was having getting along with that Alpha and today was just the actual proof of that fact.”_

“ _Why though? I mean, I have only met Haneul today but he didn't seem like a bad guy.”_

“ _It's more complicated than that.”_

Jinhwan dropped his head on the table as he sighed. Now that Junhwe looked more closely, the elder seemed exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was even paler than usual.

“ _It doesn't really have to deal with personality, it's more about pheromones.”_

Junhwe tried to focus on what Jinhwan was saying instead of the older man's red lips as they were now coming onto another characteristics of Lycoi.

“ _Dongmin is higher ranked in the pack than Haneul, but Haneul has a higher level of dominance so he doesn't like being ordered by someone his instincts consider inferior.”_

“ _So, basically, Haneul want Dongmin's rank?”_ Junhwe asked, trying to make sense of what Jinhwan was trying to explain to him.

“ _I don't think so. To me, it's just that Dongmin feels threatened by Haneul and thus wants to display dominance over him to assert his rank.”_

“ _Is that a bad thing?”_

Jinhwan sighed again. Junhwe almost felt bad for asking such stupid questions but, well, he couldn't help being an idiot.

“ _Dongmin gets too riled up when he's with Haneul so he loses control over his misplaced dominance and it usually ends up affecting the people around. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it becomes one when an Omega is involved.”_

  


Junhwe immediately thought back on how scared Jimin had looked and the way he had rushed out of the room as soon as he had finished eating. There the involved Omega was.

“ _One of the rules my pack and Dongmin's live by is that Omega_ _s_ _are to be respected and that Alpha dominance should be asserted over them only when it is needed for their own safety.”_

“ _Which was not the case here,”_ Junhwe said, slowly putting the pieces together. “ _That's why you scolded Dongmin so harshly.”_

Jinhwan shyly blushed, visibly embarrassed.

“ _I might have gone too far actually, I don't usually get this angry,”_ he said as he averted is gaze.

  


Junhwe couldn't help but laugh out loud because of how cute embarrassed Jinhwan looked in his oversized hoodie which was similar to the one he had lent to Junhwe.

Jinhwan's cheeks got redder as he got up from his seat with a pout and walked up to the kitchen counter.

“ _I'm going to cook something, you can go take a shower if you want to.”_

  


And so, into the bathroom Junhwe went.

  


  


  


When Junhwe came out half an hour later, Jinhwan and Dongmin were waiting for him to start eating, the atmosphere seemingly slightly less tense than what it had previously been.

They started eating in silence. Junhwe waited before digging in, Jinhwan and Dongmin both smiled proudly, and when they were finished Junhwe even helped with the cleaning.

He was however too tired to stay and have some kind of social interactions with the two of them so he bid Dongmin and Jinhwan goodnight before leaving the living-room to go sleep in Dongmin's bedroom.

  


  


  


  


  


December 17th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


Junhwe was woken up the next morning by shy knocks on the bedroom's door.

“ _You need to get ready or you guys will be late,”_ Junhwe heard Jinhwan say through the door.

It took a few seconds for Junhwe to understand. He slowly sat up and rubbed at his eyes before yawning. He quickly looked at his phone to check the time. It was 8 am, on the Saturday morning of the first weekend of the holidays. He was dead tired and he was already starting to regret accepting meeting Dongmin's pack.

But it was too late now.

As Junhwe started getting undressed and was now only in his underwear, the bedroom door shot open and a massive ball of fur jumped in the room and ran straight to Junhwe's chest, making the two of them fall down.

As Junhwe opened his mouth to start scolding Dongmin, he felt his best friend's wolf tongue slurping all over his face, leaving a drool trail behind it.

Feeling utterly disgusted and dirty, Junhwe pushed the heavy wolf off him with all the strength he could manage.

“ _Dongmin! What even!?”_ Junhwe aggressively said as he stood up and tried to cover his bare chest with the bed's sheets.

  


Dongmin visibly didn't care much about his best friend's wrath as he simply barked happily and walked up to Junhwe to rub his shoulders against his thighs.

  


“ _Dongmin, just leave him alone, he needs to get dressed,”_ Jinhwan said as he walked past the bedroom, ears reddening when his gaze got stuck on the younger boy’s chest.

“ _And shift back!”_ He added as he went into the kitchen.

Dongmin let out a sad whimper which didn’t move Junhwe's frozen heart at all.

“ _You get the hell outta here, now.”_

And with another whimper, the huge dark wolf had left the room, head hanging low like a hung-dog. 

  


Junhwe took a deep breath before sighing. Dongmin was going to be the death of him if he kept acting like a puppy when he was more than ten times bigger.

Junhwe quickly got dressed and ran into the bathroom to get his face cleaned up. When he came out of it five minutes later, Dongmin, now in his human form, was sitting at the living-room table, a huge grin on his face as he kept on smiling to the white wall in front of him.

  


“ _Don't be so happy, you're disgusting,”_ Junhwe said as he sat down in front of his best friend.

“ _I love you man_ ,” Dongmin said, his smile only widening.

The lack of irony in his best friend's sentence made the hair of Junhwe's whole body stand up in disgust.

He stared at Dongmin's happy face with a sneer.

  


“ _When are we going?”_ Junhwe finally asked after a few minutes.

“ _We're just waiting for Jinhwan to get ready, he'll drive us to the forest,”_ Dongmin answered as he got up from his chair and went into his bedroom.

He came out a few seconds later, his and Junhwe's jacket in hand.

The two of them then left the building and waited for Jinhwan near the older man's car.

When Jinhwan finally arrived, they hopped in the car and drove to the forest which was in fact quite close. It was however much higher than where they lived and thus, the forest was covered in snow.

When Junhwe got out of the car 10 minutes later and started walking around the forest's edge and immediately regretted not wearing warmer clothes. His breath was forming a white cloud of frost and he could already feel his toes freezing up.

  


Jinhwan then bid them goodbye and drove away, telling them that he would be back in a few hours.

Dongmin then walked away to find some privacy while he was shifting  —  _We need to be or the clothes will most likely rip,_ he had explained.

A few minutes later, the fluffy dark wolf Junhwe was now growing used to trotted up to him joyfully. 

Dongmin  then playfully shoved his snout into Junhwe's face  and his nose which only cause d Junhwe to shoot up and try to wipe off the drool as he screamed in a very unmanly way.

Before Junhwe could try to scold Dongmin, he felt another on his hand. He was about to get really angry at his best friend but he then realised that Dongmin was in act in front of him and a few meters away.

Junhwe quickly turned around, terrified at the idea of being confronted with another Lycos so quickly.

There was indeed another wolf, slightly shorter than Dongmin but a lot bulkier. It was still big nonetheless and its head arrived right under Junhwe's hip. It's fur was pitch black beside for it's muzzle which was of a lighter shade.

The wolf didn't look menacing and it was just staring back into Junhwe eyes with its own clear honey orbs.

Dongmin ran up to Junhwe's side and growled at the other wolf as he put himself between Junhwe and the darker Lycos. This didn't really make Junhwe feel safer. If Dongmin was acting like this, maybe the other wolf was dangerous.

It however didn't seem so. It didn't respond to Dongmin's menacing growls and it just ignored him as he walked past him and went to nuzzle his snout in Junhwe's hand, acting as if it wanted to be petted. 

  


Junhwe looked over at Dongmin, puzzled. Dongmin just kept on looking at the other wolf menacingly but started to walk toward the forest anyway. He then glanced back at the darker wolf which was now rubbing its shoulders against Junhwe's thighs, much like Dongmin had done the past week.

It didn't look scared of Junhwe at all and seemed quite at ease. Junhwe thus thought that they must have already met. The only  Lycoi he had met knowingly in the human forms were Jinhwan, which was now back home, Dongmin, which was already there and  Haneul . There was also Jimin, but they had talked for less than 5 minutes.

So Junhwe did the only rational thing he could think of.

“ _Haneul?”_

The dark wolf's tail starting wagging slowly from left to right and its ears shot up straight in the air. It barked happily and rubbed its snout into Junhwe's palm.

“ _Jesus Christ, for real?”_ Junhwe said as he looked from Dongmin to the darker wolf

The dark wolf nodded its huge head in an unmistakeably human manner and then proceeded to bite Junhwe's sleeve to drag him near the woods where Dongmin was waiting for them.

Junhwe internally sighed.

The day was going to be very long.

He had expected Dongmin to stay in his human form and help him around, that way Junhwe wouldn't have had to greet new people while they looked like wolves. 

Well, they were basically wolves.

  


  


They had been walking for more than 30 minutes and Junhwe was starting to feel like death was sweeter than what he was currently experiencing.

He couldn't feel his body any more.

The more they walked and the more snow there was. It arrived now at mid calves and it had started snowing slightly when they had started getting higher in the mountains.

Junhwe was growing more and more convinced that his feet were going to fall off.

But he was way too prideful to say anything about it. None of the two wolves seemed like they minded the cold. Dongmin was walking ahead, probably looking for the other Lycoi while Haneul was trotting beside Junhwe, sniffing him occasionally. 

  


As Junhwe was about to literally collapse, Haneul left his side and ran up ahead as Dongmin turned around and went to stand next to his best friend.

A few seconds later, another wolf arrived and immediately jumped on Haneul, visibly wanting to play with the latter.

The newcomer’s fur was a lot fluffier than Dongmin's or Haneul's but it was of a lighter shade. Its back was of a deep chocolate brown but almost snowy white on its muzzle and on its paws.

Its eye colour matched Haneul's as they both were of a pretty caramel shade mingled with a lighter orange hue.

  


Even if it was at least twice smaller than Haneul, the other wolf didn't hesitate to jump on the darker wolf's back and they both fell down in the snow.

Junhwe simply stood in the middle of the cold whiteness of the forest, completely frozen to the bone and watched. There wasn't anything else he could do and even if he didn't want to admit it, he was starting to regret accepting Dongmin's offer. 

He could feel that he was slowly losing his temper and he knew that he was going to start complaining in a second. So he took a deep breath that immediately froze his throat from how cold the air was and he sighed. 

  


Dongmin probably felt his distress as he gently rubbed its muzzle against Junhwe's hand before leaning on his best friend's thighs in an attempt at warming him up.

Junhwe smiled curtly and ran a hand though Dongmin's silky fur.

It was not Dongmin's fault. He was aware. Junhwe did want to know more about his best friend's life and what it had been like for him to live while hiding such a secret but spending a whole day in a forest, frozen to the bone and half wet from the snow wasn't really the most exhilarating thing to do.

  


Junhwe was about to start whining when he heard a howl. The three wolves raised their heads and stopped moving altogether.

A second later, two others wolves came running. One was completely white and quite small, which made it quite hard for Junhwe to distinguish among the snow. Behind the white wolf, there was another much bigger wolf. It was so huge that it looked more like a small bear than a wolf. Its fur was shaggy and of a greyish shade much like Dongmin's but it looked a lot less smooth to touch.

Not that Junhwe would have tried to touch it. It was by far the scariest wolf of all the one he had seen so far. Even the creamy one that had attacked him hadn’t looked as eerie.

  


If Junhwe had been scared when he had seen it arrive, he was now about to collapse as the pack of five wolves ran up to his sides.

The biggest and scariest of them all stood in front of him, its head at Junhwe's stomach level. It sniffed Junhwe up and walked around him for a bit, as if assessing him.

Junhwe was frozen in place, as much as from the cold as from the fear.

He knew Dongmin wouldn't let him get eaten, but he couldn't help the slight shake in his legs. When the huge grey wolf finally took a step back and walked away, the snowy wolf in his tracks, Junhwe let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He jerked slightly when he felt Dongmin's wet snout against his palm but quickly relaxed and mindlessly d his best friend's muzzle as Haneul walked to Junhwe's other side and nuzzled his head into his left thigh.

  


Junhwe kept his gaze locked on the huge wolf and the white one next to him.

He couldn't explain with words what he had felt, but he somehow knew that these two were higher ranked in the pack. It had shown in the way they held themselves and how they were respected by the others.

These two didn't seem to pay him any more attention, so Junhwe kept on watching as Haneul left his side to play with the chocolate wolf. The white wolf was now lying down, its head held up in grand manner, making itself stand out from the others.

  


Junhwe would have kept on observing the different wolves if the five of them had not suddenly stood up, looking quite alarmed. Less than a second later, a harrowing howl broke the silence and the huge wolf immediately answered with a similar one.

Haneul and the other wolf stopped playing altogether and ran up to Junhwe side, each on one of his side and Dongmin in front of him.

  


After a few seconds of quietness, another wolf arose from the snowy bushes, panting as if it had been running for quite some time.

It was the smallest wolf Junhwe had seen so far as its head hardly reached Junhwe's mid-thighs. It also had the brightest fur Junhwe had ever seen. It was of a vibrant orange shade. Its black eyes were staring right into Junhwe's with distress.

Dongmin immediately ran up to the red wolf's side and its licked its muzzle gently, visibly worried.

The two exchanged a few whimpers and barks, which made Junhwe wonder whether they could actually understand each other that way or if it was just a matter of sharing emotions.

His thoughts were cut short as the huge wolf and the white one started running without a warning in the direction which the red wolf had come from, Haneul and the chocolate wolf in their tracks.

With a last , Dongmin left the red wolf's sides and ran up to Junhwe's. He gently bit his best friend's sleeve to ask him to follow along.

  


Junhwe had no idea what was happening but he didn't really have the time to ask, not that Dongmin could have answered anyway.

If it had been quite a long and cold journey to arrive to destination, the way back didn't seem that way to Junhwe.

He didn't like running all that much, especially not in that weather and with frozen toes but the red wolf had made it quite clear that they were in a hurry as it had pushed Junhwe's back with its head when he had made a short break.

And so, what they had done in 30 minutes to walk up in the mountain had been done in less than 10 minutes of intense running down the hill.

  


When they arrived back where Dongmin had shifted, both his best friend and the red wolf ran up to a more secreted area while Junhwe walked up to Jinhwan's car which was parked where the elder at left them earlier.

He looked inside, expecting to see Jinhwan in it but the car was empty.

  


“ _Junhwe, get in the car!”_

Junhwe turned around, quite surprised when he saw Dongmin and Jinhwan both running to him all dressed up and panting.

He was confused and slightly worried, but did as he was told.

As soon as the three of them were inside, Jinhwan immediately started the car and drove off.

Junhwe wanted to ask what had happened that had made Jinhwan go all the way back in what he now knew to be his wolf form but he was cut short by Dongmin's wavering voice.

  


“ _Junhwe, we need you to stay very calm.”_

Junhwe's heart started beating faster. Dongmin rarely sounded so worried and serious. Junhwe was already not calm any more.

“ _Your mother has been taken as a hostage.”_

_(7476 words)_


	5. Mystery

December 17th 2016, Seoul.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe felt his heart stop. He turned around and looked at Dongmin who was sitting at the back of Jinhwan's car. He looked serious. Junhwe then looked at Jinhwan next to him. He looked just as serious. Junhwe hoped it was a prank, but he knew it wasn't.

“ _Lemme just make sure, you guys are not pulling something on me, right?”_

“ _ I _ _ wish we were _ ,” Jinhwan said, his grip on the wheel tightening.

  


Junhwe felt his eyes stinging and his heart hammering in his chest. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was not going to break down.

“ _Who?”_ He gritted out, his throat feeling unusually tight.

“ _The Ice Pack”_ , Jinhwan answered curtly.

“ _Who even are these guys?”_

“ _Here in Seoul there are_ _ 3 _ _ main packs. The Icy Ones are those my pack and Jinhwan's are fighting against,”  _ Dongmin explained.

Junhwe nodded. He then thought back on that day where he had been attacked in the alley-way. The creamy wolf was an Alpha from the Ice Pack, Dongmin had said. Junhwe was trying not to panic. He really was. But how could he not? He had just talked to his mother a few days ago, and they should have met up the next morning. He had been attacked, with the intent to kill, and these same people had taken a hold of his mother. She was in danger.

“ _We need to save her_ ,” he said with determination.

“ _We will,_ _ eventually, _ _ but for now  _ _ she's not our priority _ ,” Jinhwan said as he parked the car in front of their apartment.

Junhwe almost choked on his spit in disbelief. What could be more important than his mother's life? He could feel his face heat up in anger and frustration. Before he could start voicing his wrath, Jinhwan spoke up once more.

“ _Dongmin, go take Junhwe's things and a few clothes for us.”_

Dongmin nodded and left the car, running straight for the building. As soon as his best friend's silhouette disappeared through the main door, Junhwe spoke up.

“ _May I know what could possibly be more important than saving my mother?”_

Junhwe had noticed how harsh he had sounded but he was too angry to care.

“ _Well, you.”_

  


If his mother's life hadn't been on the line, Junhwe could have blushed. But in that situation, it only angered him furthermore.

“ _So basically, my mom is_ _missing_ _and what matters is me?!”_ Junhwe asked, almost shouting.

“ _Junhwe calm down, this is war, we can't just rush into their den and get her back!”_ Jinhwan answered back.

“ _And why couldn't we!?”_

“ _Because we'd get killed! People are dying here!”_

The silence had never been so oppressing. Junhwe was looking into the elder's eyes, none of them moving. Jinhwan looked wrecked, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Junhwe almost felt bad. Almost.

“ _I can't just sit there, waiting for some wolf to rip my mother's throat,”_ he stated, a bit calmer now but still as angry and worried.

“ _I am really sorry Junhwe, they may have taken your mother but we won't let them get a hold of you as well,”_ Jinhwan answered, his gaze not wavering.

Before Junhwe could try to say anything back, Dongmin opened the car trunk and threw some random bags in it before closing it and jumping as quickly as he could on his seat at the back.

“ _We can go,”_ Dongmin said, panting.

“ _Where are we even going?”_ Junhwe asked, his voice slowly raising once more.

“ _To my pack's den_ ,” Jinhwan stated as he started the car.

Junhwe was about to start shouting again but he decided otherwise. He hated admitting that he was in the wrong, but he was. This was more serious than just his mother, it was an actual war and whining like a child wasn't going to change anything. So, Junhwe clenched his fists and took a deep breath before looking out through the car's window. He needed to calm down.

Around an hour and a half of driving later, Jinhwan stopped the car and the three of them climbed off. When Jinhwan had said 'den', Junhwe had been expecting basically anything in the world but to end up standing in front  of the Gonjiam disused psychiatric hospital.

“ _Please don't tell me that your den isn't one of the most haunted place of South Korea,”_ Junhwe said, his voice  cracking up .

“ _Well, sorry, but it is_ ,” Jinhwan said as he walked toward the entrance.

Dongmin and Junhwe were both stuck in place. None of them dared moving. The place looked terrifying with its broken windows and bloodstained walls. Junhwe had heard stories about the place. How people who had tried to walk around the building had ended up dead or insane. It was said that screams could be heard at night.

Junhwe had never really paid attention to those rumours but now that he was standing in front of the said building, he was suddenly a lot more given to believe what people had been saying about the place. He looked over at his best friend who looked just as scared as Junhwe himself was. Jinhwan was standing in the door frame, waiting for them to follow him inside. Junhwe took a deep breath and walked up. He knew it wasn't the time to be a scaredy-cat and so he clenched his fist and entered the first corridors, a quivering Dongmin stuck to his side while Jinhwan was walking a few meters away.

Everything was in ruins and Junhwe even wondered how the building was still standing. Wooden board were scattered on the ground along with various pieces of clothing, mostly tainted with red stains. A chill ran though Junhwe's spine as he thought about what could have happened to make the place look like this.

“ _We'll be going to the main hall, that's where the Main Alpha most likely is_ ,” Jinhwan stated, his voice uncomfortably loud in the complete silence of the hospital.

Dongmin and Junhwe both nodded, lips shut. That was when Junhwe became a tad more worried. He didn't even know why he had been brought there and he was suddenly going to meet one of the most important wolf of Jinhwan's pack. He had no idea whether he was expected to do something or not. Like kissing the man's feet or bending down on his knees. He had no idea what was the protocol to follow when meeting this kind of person and he just hoped that he wouldn't make a fool out of himself.

Junhwe was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts by a loud sound on his left. The three of them had turned a corner and were now in a corridors full of metal doors. One of them had been suddenly opened, bumping against the hard wall and the sound echoing throughout the whole building. Junhwe felt Dongmin's nails digging in his arm's skin and he was himself about to faint, convinced that a ghost was going to come out of the room.

He and Dongmin both sighed in relief when a boy walked out. His glassy eyes immediately fell upon Junhwe. He stared wordlessly at the three of them in complete silence for a few awkward seconds. Junhwe thought with a shiver that the boy was maybe in fact a ghost. He didn't look healthy at all. He had deep dark bags under his eyes and his cheekbones were showing. His skin was of a greyish white as if the boy was sick and malnourished. The clothes he was wearing were worn out and too big for his frail frame. His dirty and greasy blond hair gave an overall vibe of illness that made Junhwe's stomach churn.

“ _Hi Jinhwan, I heard you guys coming through the main door_ ,” the boy spoke, his voice only a whisper.

“ _Oh hi Taehyun, meet Dongmin and Junhwe,”_ Jinhwan said as he walked up to the other boy.

Junhwe looked over at Dongmin warily. His best friend looked just as concerned and lost as Junhwe felt.

“ _I figured, they both smell strongly,”_ he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

  


The boy's gaze met Junhwe's and he immediately felt a sick feeling in his stomach. The boys eyes looked lifeless as if he was already dead. The thought made Junhwe so uncomfortable that he averted his gaze and looked down at the ground.

“ _Is there anyone home?”_ Junhwe heard Jinhwan asked, unable to look at anything but the dull white floor tiles.

“ _The Fighters and the Hunters are away but the others are there,”_ He answered with his broken voice, still staring at Junhwe.

“ _Mino is in the hall?”_

“ _In the cafeteria_ _,”_ he said with a puzzling smile before slipping back into his room, closing the metal door behind him.

Junhwe stared at the heavy door. He couldn't quite find the words to describe the way the other boy had made him feel. He had been uncomfortable. He had felt sick. Junhwe heard Jinhwan sigh. He looked up at the elder to see him massaging his temples, a look of pity in his eyes.

_"Is that someone from your pack?"_ __ Dongmin asked, visibly just as lost  and uneasy as Junhwe.

Jinhwan brought a finger to his lips, telling them to keep it down. He kept on walking ahead and Junhwe and Dongmin had no choice but to follow him. When they had finally left the corridor and entered a new one, Jinhwan whispered to them.

“ _Taehyun's ears are quite sharp, I needed to wait to be a bit further to explain.”_

Junhwe and Dongmin looked at each other, confused.

“ _He is indeed a member of my pack but as he is quite hard to handle I would advise the two of you to keep away from him,”_ Jinhwan added.

Junhwe didn't feel any comforted by the elder's words. Before he could try to ask any more about the boy, Dongmin spoke up.

“ _That guy has a serious health problem_.”

Jinhwan stopped in his tracks and then turned around. He looked sad and worried.

He sighed before speaking up.

“ _He wasn't always like this. He used to be the Lead Omega and_ _also_ _the_ _best Spy I've ever met…”_ Jinhwan trailed off.

“ _What happened then?”_ Junhwe asked, not liking the bad feeling in his gut at all.

Jinhwan took a deep breath before answering.

“ _He was spotted while on tracking mission. By the Ice Pack.”_

Junhwe heard Dongmin gasp. His best friend was suddenly looking sad, his eyes full of pity much alike Jinhwan's. There was something Junhwe didn't get. The Ice Pack and the Cloud Pack were enemies, that much he had understood and he also understood that being held captive by your enemy probably isn't fun, after all, it was what was happening right now to his mother. But Taehyun had probably been released since he was now back in the Den.

“ _And so what? Did something happen there?”_

Junhwe didn't know which part of his sentence had such an impact on the elder but Jinhwan's eyes started shining brightly as if he was about to cry.

“ _We can't know for sure, he doesn't want to talk about it but we are perfectly aware of what they do to their own Omegas so we can only imagine what they would do to an enemy pack's one.”_

Junhwe hoped with all this heart that no matter what they were referring to, it wasn't going to be applied to his mother. Both Dongmin and Jinhwan looked so shook and hurt that Junhwe kept his mouth shut although he wanted to know more. He still didn't understand. Had he been beaten? Or had they purposely starved him? What he knew for sure was that it had been horrible enough to break that boy's mind and Junhwe felt a shiver thinking about what he might have gone through. He was curious but he was well aware of the fact that it was probably not the best for him to ask more about that matter. And so he shut up and followed Jinhwan through the dirty corridors in the compete silence of the hospital, the atmosphere a lot more heavy than before.

A few minutes later, the trio arrived in front a huge hinged door through which he could see what looked like to be the cafeteria. Jinhwan pushed the door open and the two others followed suit. The lights were on but the room was as quiet and empty as the rest of the hospital. Junhwe looked around the room and realised that it was a lot less messy than the corridors. The walls were almost clean and there weren't that many things scattered on the ground. The TV and some couches showed that this room was a lot more lively than the rest of the hospital as the eerie atmosphere wasn't as present there. Junhwe could almost feel at ease. Well at least he didn't feel completely uncomfortable.

“ _Welcome back Jinhwan.”_

Junhwe almost had a heart attack. He had not seen him, but there was a man, sitting on one of the couch. He was tall and imposing, his skin was tanned and he had short trimmed hair. Junhwe knew, without anyone telling him, that this man was the Main Alpha. Everything from his deep voice to his imposing stature and the way he held himself proved his status. The man rose from the couch and walked up to the trio. He stopped right in front of Junhwe and stared at him in silence. Junhwe didn't know if it was some kind of test or not, but he couldn't hold the man's gaze. It wasn't because he was feeling uncomfortable like he had been with Taehyun. He just felt the urge to look down, and so he did. Junhwe had no idea whether that had pleased the man or not, but he heard him chuckle before moving on and stopping in front of Dongmin. Junhwe glanced sideways at his best friend that was staring directly into the imposing man's eyes. Junhwe could see how hard it was for Dongmin to not look away. His eyes were wavering and he looked uncomfortable but he kept on looking straight ahead nonetheless.

  


“ _It is nice meeting you, Lead Alpha Dongmin_ ,” the man said, his deep voice echoing throughout the silent room.

Dongmin's throat and lips were dry from the stress and he had to wet them with his tongue before speaking up, his voice a lot smaller compared to the other man's.

“ _It is nice meeting you, Main Alpha Mino.”_

Junhwe somehow understood that he was currently witnessing the protocol he had been scared of some time ago and he was glad that seemed to only apply to Lycoi. Junhwe couldn't have possibly opened his mouth with such oppressive eyes boring into his skull. The man stepped back, a small smile on his face, visibly satisfied. Dongmin sighed in relief, all the previous tension leaving his body.

“ _Jinhwan, Dongmin and I are going to discuss how things will go, please show Junhwe to your room meanwhile,”_ Mino said as he walked back to the couch as he asked for Dongmin to follow along.

Jinhwan nodded and walked up the hinged door, Junhwe right beside him. As soon as they were in the corridor, Jinhwan let out a sigh of relief. Junhwe looked at the elder in wonder.

“ _I was so worried_ ,” he said as an answer to Junhwe's silent question. “ _First impression is the key when two Heads from a pack meet for the first time.”_

“ _Was that a staring contest?”_ Junhwe asked teasingly to loosen the previous tense atmosphere.

“ _Kind of,”_ Jinhwan said with a smile. “ _It's about proving your Alpha status to the other.”_

“ _Then did I make a bad impression?”_ Junhwe asked, suddenly worried as he had immediately looked away.

Jinhwan laughed out loud.

“ _Honestly it was kind of refreshing to see someone act purely out of instinct without worrying about the status so I wouldn't say that it was bad.”_

Junhwe wasn't sure whether he should take this as a compliment or not, so he just nodded.

“ _Shall we head to my room then?”_ Jinhwan asked with a smile, visibly more relaxed now.

“ _Why though?”_

Not that Junhwe was against seeing Jinhwan's room in a psychiatric hospital, he just didn't know why they were going there.

“ _Why, eh. Because that's where you're sleeping.”_

“ _I’m sorry?”_ Junhwe said as he felt his cheeks heating up.

“ _Dongmin’s pack is going to merge with mine for a while so it will be quite packed. There’s not enough rooms for you to have one on your own,”_ Jinhwan explained as he started to walk away.

Junhwe followed him in a new corridor that looked a lot less in ruins than the previous ones. His heart was beating fast and he couldn’t help the smile that was blooming on his face.

“ _We would have put you with Dongmin but he’ll be rooming with our Lead Alpha to reinforce the alliance.”_

Junhwe nodded. He was definitely not going to complain. He probably would have been more comfortable sleeping with his best friend than Jinhwan since he had only met the elder less than two weeks ago but his heart was picking up just thinking about it. He secretly hoped that Jinhwan had a single bed so that they would have to sleep close to each other. After a few more turns, the two boys stopped in front of a white door, the whole corridor a lot cleaner than everything else in the Hospital. Jinhwan pushed the door opened and Junhwan followed him inside, closing the door behind himself.

The room was quite big and a lot alike the one back at their apartment. It didn’t look like a cell, unlike what Junhwe had been expecting. Everything was completely clean and in order but there weren’t many belongings and it made the whole room quite impersonal. Junhwe’s eyes then fell upon a single bed and his heart started beating faster. But he then noticed another single bed at the other end of the room.

Hiding his disappointment was hard.

“ _Sit wherever you like. I’m going to bring your bags in_ ,” Jinhwan said as he left the room.

Junhwe had completely forgotten about his bags, left in the car trunk.

He looked around the room but didn’t see any chair, so he just sat down on the furthest bed, near the window. Junhwe was almost blinded by the light when he looked outside, the white snow and the clear sky hurting his eyes. The only thing he could see through that window were trees. He then bitterly realised that he was going to spend his winter vacation lost somewhere in Gwangju in a disused mental hospital in which there was probably no Wi-Fi, with his mother missing. Not the best holidays of his life.

Junhwe sighed as he rose from the bed and walked up to one of the shelves. It was quite empty as the only things on it were some books and an old pair of glasses. Junhwe then noticed a very small synthesizer, hidden under the wardrobe. He took it out and wiped the dust away. He tried to push one of the keys but he then remembered, not without feeling stupid, that it needed to be plugged in to work. He sighed and put it back where he found it. Everything in the room looked old as if it had not been used for quite some time, which made sense as Jinhwan had been living with Dongmin for half a year.

Junhwe then turned around as he could hear steps in the corridor coming through the door. Less than a second later, the door was opened and Jinhwan walked in, two bags in his hands.

“ _This is yours_ ,” he said as he put one bag on the furthest bed, “ _and this is mine”_ , he added as he put the other one on the bed closest to the door.

“ _Thanks_ ,” Junhwe said as he walked to the bed and opened his own bag. There were a few of his clothes and some basic need supplies stuffed messily in the bag.

He walked back to Jinhwan who was now sitting on his own bed, checking out his bag. When he was done looking through what Dongmin had packed for them, he closed the bag and put it down on the ground. Junhwe stood awkwardly for another few minutes in silence, not sure about what he should do or say.

Jinhwan then cleared his throat and spoke up.

“ _Err, so... Ah, right, how did the morning with the Lycoi go? I mean, beside the bad news, of course.”_

Junhwe would have almost laughed at how awkward and uneasy Jinhwan sounded but he felt that way himself as well.

“ _Well, it was... New, I guess?”_

  


Junhwe knew he wasn’t being really eloquent but he didn’t know what he could say. He had been cold, wet and scared and then he had been told that his mother had been taken away. He had almost forgotten the morning with the wolves. His mind had been too full with worries and his mom's face to really think about anything else. Junhwe was aware that Jinhwan was trying to change topic and make Junhwe less worried. Junhwe appreciated the thought, even if for now, it wasn't working well.

“ _You weren't too scared?”_ Jinhwan then asked with a teasing smirk.

“ _Actually, I was,”_ Junhwe admitted, his cheeks reddening when Jinhwan laughed.

“ _I kind of expected it. I mean, Lycoi are bigger than wolves and you were all alone, lost in the woods.”_

  


Junhwe nodded. He had been quite uneasy at first, but Dongmin and Haneul had been by his sides. Plus, only the bear-like wolf had been really scary, the others had been looking quite normal, even beautiful.

“ _The white one_ ,” Junhwe said.

“ _That would be Seokjin,_ _the Main Omega_ ,”Jinhwan stated, a bit lost.

“ _He was pretty. Like I don't know, he looked beautiful_ ,” Junhwe said.

Jinhwan didn't say anything and just kept on staring at Junhwe, his face emotionless. Junhwe felt his cheeks heat up, suddenly very self-conscious and embarrassed of his own choice of words.

“ _I mean, he was snowy white and next to that huge grey beast of a wolf, he looked beautiful,”_ Junhwe added, his blush deepening when Jinhwan laughed out loud.

“ _So basically all you remember from that morning is Seokjin's pretty fur and Namjoon's beastly appearance?”_ Jinhwan said with a teasing smirk.

  


Junhwe felt his cheeks heat up. Jinhwan was making fun of him, and he had all the rights to. The only thing that had struck him about that morning was the wolves' appearance. Seokjin had been the prettiest out of them all, with his white fur and head held high. On the contrary, the wolf whose fur he had liked the less had been Namjoon's. Unlike Seokjin's fluffy and silky one, his had been shabby and very short. Junhwe also remembered Haneul's and Donming's fur pretty well. The two wolves looked quite similar. They were both around the same height, even if Haneul was a lot more muscular. Dongmin's overall fur was of a lighter shade as he had some random patch of greyish white here and there. There also had been a third wolf, the one that had played with Haneul. His fur had been chocolate and white, his eyes honey and smaller than the others.

But not smaller than Jinhwan.

Junhwe had almost forgotten that he had also seen Jinhwan in his wolf form for the first time. He remembered it being of a vibrant orange, much alike the elder's hair. What he also remembered was the wolf's petite stature. Junhwe thought with a smile that among all the wolves he had met so far, Jinhwan was the one who's both forms were the most alike one another.

  


“ _What are you laughing for?”_ He asked, pulling Junhwe out of his reverie. 

“ _I was remembering you in your wolf form,”_ Junhwe answered simply.

Jinhwan looked confused for a second, probably not seeing what Junhwe was laughing at. And so, Junhwe added:

“ _You were the smallest out of them all, just like in your human form.”_

Jinhwan looked stunned for a second, he had not been expecting such an answer. He faked a hurt face and said:

“ _You remember Seokjin's fluffy and pretty fur and the only thing you remember about me is my short height?”_

Junhwe wasn't sure how to react to that. Because he was in fact, not sure that Jinhwan was really kidding. Junhwe was aware of the fact that he could have actually hurt the elder and so he said with the most sincerity he could gather:

“ _No, you were the one with the prettiest fur out of them all!”_

“ _Junhwe, I wasn't being seriou--”_ Jinhwan tried, but was cut short by Junhwe once more.

“ _Your fur was a lot fluffier than Seokjin's and the colour was much more beautiful. You looked a lot cuter than any of them. You were my favourite wolf of them all.”_

  


By then, Jinhwan's ears had already turned completely red and Junhwe was starting to sweat of embarrassment. He knew he might have spoken his feelings a bit too much. The silence was heavy. Junhwe didn't know what to say any more, he just felt so embarrassed that he could die. Junhwe had never been good at social interactions, he had always ended up being awkward and just like every other time when he was too embarrassed to say anything, he tried to change subject as well as he could.

“ _Yeah, err, really pretty and stuff, but wolves are still quite scary, right?”_

Jinhwan looked up to Junhwe, his face still as red. He looked a bit puzzled but spoke up nonetheless.

“ _That's because you're not used to us yet. Try to think of us as dogs, it'll be easier.”_

Junhwe snorted.

“ _You're a bit too big for a dog.”_

“ _Well, the others might be, but I'm actually the size of a Labrador.”_

“ _Quite a huge one then_ ,” Junhwe said with amusement, not seeing where this was going at all.

“ _Well, maybe, but I'm still smaller than the others so I'm probably less scary to you.”_

“ _Yeah, probably? What's your point?”_

  


Jinhwan blushed. Jinhwan actually blushed and then stuttered, looking more awkward and embarrassed than Junhwe had ever seen him. He had no idea what the elder was going to say, but Junhwe could feel his heartbeat pick up in expectation.

“ _Well, you could try to get comfortable with me in my wolf form so that you'd be less scared with the others,”_ he explained as he glanced away, ears redder than ever.

Junhwe didn't really understand why it seemed to be such a big deal to Jinhwan. The idea seemed quite good to him and couldn't see what it was that was making Jinhwan so embarrassed. And so, he nodded, curious to see the elder in his wolf form once more. Junhwe was also curious as to whether Jinhwan was going to shift in front of him or not, he wanted to see at least once what it was like.

What he didn't expect at all, however, was for Jinhwan to suddenly take his shirt off and to start undoing his belt. Blood rushed to Junhwe's face and his brain stopped processing for a few seconds. He looked from the elder's red face to his milky white stomach and then to his small hands that were now undoing his jeans' zipper.

“ _I'm sorry, but what in the world are you doing?”_ Junhwe asked, his eyes stuck on Jinhwan's black underwear that was slightly showing.

“ _Well, I need to be naked to shift, if I don't want to rip my clothes,”_ Jinhwan explained, his face still as red.

It did make sense. Dongmin had even already told him about that. Yet Junhwe had forgotten. Jinhwan took Junhwe's lack of answer as an acknowledgement and resumed what he had been doing: taking his pants off. Junhwe debated for a few seconds what he should do, but decided to turn around when the elder's white thighs came into his vision, feeling a lot less cool than he had previously been. His stomach was churning uncomfortably and he was feeling hot. 

Junhwe took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He then quickly thought that Jinhwan was definitely able to smell what kind of emotions Junhwe was having and it helped him calm down. He didn't want the elder to think that he was some sort of pervert. Even if, well, he kind of was.

Junhwe then felt something wet bump against his hand and turned around to find Jinhwan, in his wolf form, looking up to him, his muzzle against Junhwe's palm, his clothes scattered near his bed.

Jinhwan was looking just like Junhwe remembered. He was small as his head was at Junhwe's thighs level, compared to Dongmin who's head was around Junhwe's hips, but also a lot fluffier. His fur was looking silkier than any of the other wolves he had seen and Junhwe couldn't hold in his urge to touch the elder.

He awkwardly extended his head and patted Jinhwan's head. The wolf closed his eyes, visibly enjoying the attention and crept closer, his shoulders brushing against Junhwe's jeans. Jinhwan's fur was as smooth as it lookedand Junhwe liked the feeling of his hand running through the elder's orange hairs.

“ _You do seem less imposing than Namjoon_ ,” Junhwe said teasingly as he crouched down to be at Jinwhan's eye level.

Jinwhan's eyes opened and Junhwe saw a quick glimpse of mischief that was gone as fast as it appeared. Without a warning, Jinhwan jumped up and shoved Junhwe with its whole body, making the two of them fall down quite harshly. Junhwe quickly sat back up and playfully shoved Jinhwan away as he said:

“ _That's true though, you're not even half Dongmin's height.”_

Jinhwan ran straight up to Junhwe's chest and pushing him down on the ground, keeping him in place as he held down his shoulders with his paws. Junhwe tried to push Jinhwan away but put in such a position was very restrictive and he couldn't find the strength to move. 

Jinhwan was aware of Junhwe's helplessness and was having a lot of fun showing to Junhwe that he was currently the dominant one out of the two of them as he proudly sat atop Junhwe's chest and stared at him evenly.

  


“ _Fine, you win_ ,” Junhwe said bitterly with a pout, unable to move at all.

Junhwe had never seen a wolf seem as elated as Jinwhan did. Jinwhan then moved a bit, allowing Junhwe to sit up with a sigh. Before he could stand up however, Jinhwan sat down on Junhwe's laps, keeping him down on the ground. Jinhwan looked straight at Junhwe eyes and then lay down atop Junhwe's laps as if he was about to take a nap

“ _Lemme stand up_ ,” Junhwe said with a fond smile.

But the wolf didn't budge.

Junhwe affectively ran a hand through Jinhwan's silky fur, his heartbeat slowly picking up. He could feel a pleasant warmth spreading throughout his whole body due to Jinhwan's presence on his lap. Petting a wolf while it was sleeping on him was a whole new experience for Junhwe, even if it occur to him that the beating of his heart was most likely due to the fact that said wolf was Jinhwan.

After a few minutes of silence, Junhwe felt Jinhwan completely relax and his breathing became even. His legs were killing him because of how heavy Jinhwan was but he didn't have the heart to push the elder away now that he had fallen asleep and so he just kept on stroking Jinhwan's fur.

After a few more minutes, the silence of the room was however disturbed when the door opened and Dongmin entered the room. He looked as if he was about to greet them but then he stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open and his arm raised in a non-achieved wave. He looked from Junhwe's red face to Jinhwan's unmoving form on top of his best friend's laps.

A smirk made its way on Dongmin's face as he whispered teasingly:

“ _Having a good time, I see.”_

Junhwe's face became impossibly redder and he looked away, refusing to confront his best friend's mocking smile.

“ _I mean, I can come back later if you want_ ,” Dongmin added as he opened to door once more, ready to leave.

“ _Stop being a prick and tell me why you're here_ ,” Junhwe whispered harshly, too scared to wake up Jinhwan to actually shout.

“ _Alpha Mino wants to talk to you, he wants to meet you up in the hall, just beyond the cafet_ _eria_ ,” Dongmin explained as he walked back into room.

Junhwe sighed. He didn't want to get up yet. He glanced down at the red pile of fluffy fur that was Jinhwan and strocked his ears one last time. He then pushed the elder away as gently as he could, miraculously not waking him up as he stood up.

He gave a last glance at his best friend who was snickering at Junhwe unusual carefulness, then at Jinhwan who was still sleeping on the ground next to his bed, and then he left the room, closing the door behind him.

  


“ _Come on, I know you're not sleeping_ ,” Dongmin said as he sat down on Jinhwan's bed.

The red wolf's head rose up and he stared at Dongmin reprovingly, which only caused the younger man to laugh out loud.

  


  


  


  


  


  


Junhwe arrived in what he hoped to be the hall five minutes later. He had rushed through the scary corridors, and didn't even stop in the cafeteria which had been empty anyway. He had walked straight through the hinged doors at the other end and had made his way through another corridor before arriving in a huge open space with big windows.

The place was the cleanest out of all the places he had been in so far. There were many couches and a few TVs, making it look almost cosy.

Seated at one of the chairs, Mino was waiting for Junhwe and as soon as their eyes met, Junhwe felt a chill up his spine. He couldn't help being uneasy and feel oppressed when he was with that man.

Mino then gestured for him to come closer and sit across the table in front of him and so Junhwe awkwardly crossed the room and sat down wordlessly, unsure as to what he was supposed to do.

“ _We briefly met before, but once more, it is nice to meet you Junhwe, I am Mino_ ,” the man said as he extended a hand to Junhwe.

“ _Nice to meet you,”_ Junhwe answered uneasily as they shook hands.

“ _I want to talk to you about your mother.”_

Junhwe felt his heart beating faster. He didn't know if he should be happy or worried that they were going to do something about her.

“ _As you know, she was taken by the Ice Pack this morning in her own house. That fact alone breaks at least a hundred of our rules,”_ Mino said gravely before continuing. _“_ _W_ _e could report it to the Lycoi Justice but by the time they would actually_ _do something_ _, your mother could already be dead.”_

Junhwe felt his heart stop before suddenly picking up, beating faster than it ever had. He could feel cold sweat on his back and it took everything Junhwe had not to flip out. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

“ _Which is why I think it is better to deal with this matter ourselves. My pack and Dongmin's will merge for the time being and we will together fight against the Ice Pack to get your mother back_ ,” Mino explained.

“ _When will she be back?”_ Junhwe asked eagerly.

“ _That is where it becomes a bit more complicated. You see, Junhwe, the timing has never been this off. We are less than a week away from the heat and thus, more than half of our forces are completely useless.”_

  


Junhwe looked up at Mino's face, puzzled. The heat had been brought up more than a few times by both Dongmin and Jinhwan and even if he vaguely knew that it was basically mating time for wolves, he didn’t exactly the effects were.

Junhwe was definitely not going to ask though. Mino resumed his explanations without any further ado.

“ _Heat usually happens in late December, this year it will be around the 24 th or the 25th.”_

That seemed pretty easy to understand and Junhwe didn't have any trouble getting that part. What was still confusing, however, was why it was that much of a problem. Mino quickly added:

“ _Only Omegas go into heat but their smells during that time greatly affects Alphas. Omegas, which are our Spies, would be too easy to spot and Alphas which are mainly Fighters or Defenders wouldn't be useful as they become quite uncontrollable.”_

“ _What do you mean by that?”_

Mino seemed to think about it for a second, then he answered.

“ _Well, see, if there's a huge strawberry cake in front of you and you haven't eaten for months, you will want to eat that cake, right?”_

Junhwe had absolutely no idea where this metaphor was going but he nodded nonetheless, confusion written all over his face.

“ _Now imagine that there are other people like you that want this cake, you will run straight for it without paying attention if there's a trap or anything. All you will think about is the cake and being first.”_

“ _Are Omegas supposed to be the cake?”_ Junhwe asked with disbelief.

“ _For Alphas, yes, they are alike that cake.”_

  


Junhwe wanted to laugh at how stupid the whole thing was. First, the comparison was completely childish but even its meaning was too confusing for Junhwe. He couldn't comprehend how much of an impact a mere smell could have on Alphas.

Before Junhwe could comment on the foolishness of all this, Mino spoke up once more.

“ _We will try to put our Omegas out of heat as fast as we can so that they can go spy on their den. We need to know where it is and how they are organized.”_

Junhwe had no idea what 'put Omegas out of heat' meant but he didn't even want to start thinking about it. And so he just nodded.

He didn't really have a choice anyway. What bothered him was that it meant that his mother was going to be their prisoner for quite some time. If the heat was on the 24th and even if they found the den right away, she wouldn't be saved before the 26th. Five days.

“ _After our Spies have found the den, we'll send the Hunters to lay traps and finally the Fighters will raid the den to get your mother. She'll be fine, don't worry,”_ Mino said with a smile that was supposed to be comforting.

Junhwe, however, wasn't feeling any comforted. He had no idea whether she had been hurt or not but many things could happen in five days and he was sure that she wouldn't be 'fine'.

“ _Why did they even take her? She's no Lycos_ ,” Junhwe said bitterly.

For a second, Mino seemed uneasy as if he didn't know what to answer but that hesitation was gone as soon as it had appeared and Mino spoke up.

“ _She is our ally, they probably think they can get informations on our den's location from her.”_

Even if that made sense, Junhwe couldn't help feeling like he was being lied to. And so, he asked another question that was puzzling him.

“ _And why am I here?”_

Even if Mino had tried to stay stolid, Junhwe had seen the little twitch of lips and his hesitation to answer, once more.

“ _You'll be safer here.”_

“ _But why was I in any danger? Before you brought me here, I didn't know the den location, they couldn't have gotten any informations from me.”_

Mino looked conflicted. Junhwe knew something was being kept from him and if usually he wouldn’t have insisted and not cared, he was forced to care when his mother's life was on the line.

“ _You were attacked by one of their Alpha_ ,” he said, more power to his voice.

Junhwe sighed. He didn't want to give up but Mino wasn't one he could mess with. And so he just nodded, thinking that maybe he would have more chance with Dongmin. The two of them talked a bit more about how the next days were going to go. Mino then left Junhwe, saying that he needed to talk with the Main Omega, Jinwoo. Junhwe stayed in the hall for a while after Mino had left. He kept on thinking about his mother. He was trying to make sense out of what he had been told but he couldn't find a link.

He was going to have a talk with Dongmin.

(6863 words)


	6. Misery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a warning on that chapter. Graphic description of violence, please do not read if it makes you uncomfortable.

December 18th 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


  


  


The first thing Junhwe did when he woke up was to touch the scar on his left arm to check whether he had been dreaming or not. From the bottom of his heart he had hoped that he wouldn’t feel the calloused skin under his fingertips, but the scar was still there and his mother was still missing. Junhwe sat up in his bed with a sigh and looked out through the window. Everything was snowy white, the sky clear of any cloud. He then looked at Jinhwan’s bed but the elder wasn’t there. Junhwe turned his phone on to check the time. 10 a.m. Mino had told him yesterday that he could come into the cafeteria any time to eat whatever he wanted, and Junhwe was feeling very hungry.

When Junhwe had finished dressing up and getting ready five minutes later, he left his and Jinhwan’s room and headed towards the cafeteria. The corridors were still the same as the day before. Bloodied and dirty. It almost cut down Junhwe’s hunger. He quickened up his pace, desperate to get to the cafeteria as soon as he could, not liking the atmosphere of these corridors at all.

Junhwe was about to push the cafeteria’s hinged doors when he heard voices coming from another corridor on his left that he had not noticed before. The voices then grew louder as if the people were having an argument and that was when Junhwe noticed that one of the voices sounded slightly familiar. He took a deep breath and turned left, curious as to who it could be.

  


The last thing Junhwe had been expecting to see at the end of that corridor was Haneul, looking quite intimidated by another man, older, but also far angrier. It did occur to Junhwe that Haneul had nothing to do here as it wasn’t his pack’s den but he was too preoccupied with the harsh way the man was speaking to pay attention to such a small detail. The other man’s hair were of a greenish yellow, but what struck Junhwe most beside that unusual hue was the way he was pushing Haneul away with force, looking ready to beat the crap out of the poor boy.

“ _You think you can do whatever you want, Young Alpha?”_ He said as he shoved Haneul against a wall, causing the younger to whimper in pain.

Junhwe didn’t really know what he should do. He wanted to help, but was also scared for himself. He looked from Haneul’s fearful eyes to the other man’s raised punch and didn’t think twice before walking up to the duo. Haneul’s eyes focus shifted from the older man’s face to Junhwe approaching figure and then widened in recognition. For a second, he looked even more panicked, as if he feared to involve Junhwe but he wasn’t left much time to think.

  


“ _Oh, here you are_ _Haneul!_ _I’ve been looking for you all morning!”_ Junhwe said as he faked an awkward laugh.

The other man glanced at Junhwe but quickly focused on the trembling boy in front of him once more. He looked as if was about to scream at both of them but Junhwe was faster. He took Haneul’s wrist in his hand and proceeded to drag the other boy away as fast as he could without saying nor looking at the older man. As soon as they had turned the corner and were both standing in front of the hinged doors of the cafeteria, Haneul let out a deep breath.

“ _Thanks,”_ he said, still a bit breathless.

“ _That dude was scary,”_ Junhwe stated, quite out of breath himself.

“ _He’s my roommate.”_

Junhwe looked up to Haneul’s eyes. He had had no idea that Haneul had been there at all, even less that he already had a room.

“ _When did you arrive?”_

“ _Some members of my pack and I moved out during the night_ ,” Haneul explained as he rubbed a sore part of his back that had bumped against the hard wall.

“ _And you’re rooming with that guy?”_ Junhwe said with disbelief, quite worried for his friend.

“ _He’s Jiyong, one of the pack’s oldest Alphas_ ,” Haneul said with a sigh. “ _He looks cool and stuff but he doesn’t seem to like me very much.”_

Junhwe thought back on the violent way Jiyong had been dealing with his roommate and he couldn’t agree more. He should consider himself really lucky to be rooming with Jinhwan.

“ _I’m roomming with Jinhwan hyung, by the way,”_ Junhwe said.

Haneul’s face closed for a second.

“ _I know_ ,” he stated. When Haneul saw Junhwe’s puzzled face, he added: “ _The smell.”_

Junhwe made a non-committing sound. He had forgotten about Lycoi’s noses. It would make sense that Haneul already knew that.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Junhwe’s rumbling stomach. He could have almost felt embarrassed if he wasn’t so desperate for food. He looked over at Haneul’s teasing smile but simply huffed and walked through the cafeteria’s doors, too hungry to care, Haneul in his tracks. The cafeteria was completely empty and the only noises that were disrupting the room’s utter silence were Haneul and Junhwe’s munching sounds. Haneul had actually been quite hungry himself and they were now both devouring their meal without saying anything, too busy with stuffing their mouths full of food.

When they both were finished, less than ten minutes later, they left the cafeteria and stopped in one of the Hospital dirty corridors. Junhwe had nothing to do and was thinking of going back to his room to see Jinwhan for a bit but Haneul apparently had different plans.

“ _Hey, what do you think about exploring the hospital for a while?”_

Junhwe felt his blood freeze in his veins.

“ _No way.”_

“ _Don’t tell me you’re scared?”_

Junhwe kept his mouth shut. He was indeed scared. The hospital was huge, he didn’t want to get lost. None of them knew their way around the building and they had no idea if there were restricted areas where they would not be allowed to go to. And it wasn’t just any building. It was a haunted one, with blood on the walls and scattered dirty clothes everywhere. Some windows were broken, the corridors were deathly cold, nothing about the whole place would make one given to explore it. Haneul, however, did seem interested in losing his life through horrible suffering.

“ _Come on, I’m sure we’ll have fun,”_ he sing-sang with a huge grin as he took Junhwe’s wrist in his hand started to drag him away.

“ _I don’t want to!”_ Junhwe said, trying to wriggle his wrist out of Haneul’s grasp.

“ _Don’t be such a scaredy-cat_ ,” Haneul teased as he lead the two of them into a darker corridor.

Junhwe’s sigh signed his defeat and also his most likely imminent death. He nodded reluctantly but had to fight the smile off his face when he saw how elated Haneul looked. Less than five minutes later, however, Junhwe was starting to grow more and more convinced that he was never going to make it out alive. They had walked through corridors in ruins with pieces of wall scattered here and there, the ceiling hanging precariously over their heads and were now into a huge room quite alike to an old canteen. The tables and chairs were mostly broken and scattered all over the room. Many of them were tainted with red stains and Junhwe had to look away to keep his breakfast in his stomach.

Junhwe glanced over at Haneul who looked absolutely not phased. The boy was walking around the room, checking out every piece of furniture with a calmness that amazed Junhwe. Junhwe then looked around the room, trying to find anything that looked dangerous or scary but beside those red stains and broken chairs, the room looked quite alright. It was nothing compared to the corridor in which Taehyun’s room was. Junhwe felt a shiver creep up his spine when he remembered the boy’s frail frame and grayish skin.

Junhwe shook his head to chase the thought away and looked around for Haneul. But he was nowhere to be found. Junhwe felt his heartbeat picking up. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He walked through the tables, searching for his friend as he was trying not to panic.

“ _Haneul_ _?”_ He said, his loud voice echoing throughout the room. 

But no answer came. Instead, he heard a dull noise coming from behind him. Junhwe turned around as fast as he could, looking for whatever may have caused the sound but there was nothing. He walked back to the canteen’s door with trembling legs and stopped in the door frame. He looked into the dark corridor through which they had come but Haneul was nowhere to be found. Just as Junhwe was about to leave the canteen and walk back into the corridor in ruins, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to shriek in a very manly way. He nearly had a heart attack. He turned around to find Haneul in front of him, looking quite puzzled.

“ _Where the hell were you?!”_ Junhwe shouted, his heart beating like crazy from the good scare Haneul had given him.

“ _In the room over there?”_ Haneul answered as he pointed over at a small door in the canteen.

Junhwe let out a nervous sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to tidy the mess of locks.

“ _Were you scared without me?”_ Haneul teasingly said with a grin.

“ _Well, yes, I was!”_ Junhwe shouted back with red cheeks, embarrassed of himself.

Haneul laughed out loud, amused, which caused Junhwe to huff and look away. The other boy walked up to Junhwe and rubbed his back in a soothing manner but Haneul’s teasing smirk made the whole action quite ironical.

“ _Don’t make fun of me, I really hate scary places,”_ Junhwe whined, as he started to walk away.

Haneul ran up to Junhwe’s sides, his grin still as big but he kept silent. After a few minutes, the two of them had walked back through the corridors and had finally arrived back in front of the cafeteria. Junhwe was tired and he wanted to sit down. He also wanted ice cream. So, they walked through the hinged doors and looked for a table, the cafeteria now a lot more packed than before. Just as Junhwe was heading towards an empty table, he felt Haneul tug on his wrist to bring him the other way towards a table of four at which were already seated two boys Junhwe didn’t know.

They both looked around his age and were talking animatedly with one another, both wearing big smiles. As Haneul and Junhwe came closer however, the blond boy’s smile fell as soon as his eyes met Junhwe’s. He looked from Haneul’s hand on Junhwe’s wrist to Haneul oblivious face and then looked away, crestfallen. Junhwe was already feeling uneasy. The two of them didn’t have the time to sit down that the blond spoke up.

“ _How unusual of_ _Haneulie_ _to be so sociable_ ,” he said placidly.

Junhwe glanced at Haneul who had visibly not noticed the bitterness in the blond boy’s voice and was instead blushing, looking away as if he was embarrassed. The other boy with red hair’s smile widened as he joined in.

“ _I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with someone who’s not from the pack_.”

Junhwe looked from Haneul’s red face to the red hair’s grin and then to the blond’s glare. He thought for a second that he could just say he needed to go back to his room and leave, he felt too uneasy to stay. Before Junhwe could try to find a way out, however, Haneul spoke up, introducing the two other boys.

“ _This is Taehyung,”_ he said as he gestured toward the blond one, “ _and Hoseok_ ,” he added. 

The red hair, unlike the blond one, seemed very welcoming as he stood up, wearing a friendly grin and went to shake hands with Junhwe. The boy he now knew to be Taehyung was sitting in an utter stillness that was making Junhwe very uncomfortable and the glare he was receiving didn’t help in any way.

Junhwe awkwardly sat down in front of Hoseok, Haneul next to him. Junhwe was worried the atmosphere would be tense considering the mood Taehyung seemed to be in but thankfully, Hoseok was either very oblivious or very cheerful – or both – since his friend’s sour face didn’t seem to phase him at all as he animatedly kept on speaking with Haneul. 

“ _Oh by the way Junhwe_ ,” Hoseok suddenly said as he turned towards said boy, _“did you know that we’re the Trainers you’ll be learning with?”_

Junhwe gave a puzzled look to Haneul, not understanding half of what he had just been told, but Haneul seemed just as confused as him.

“ _Why does he need any training?”_ Haneul inquired, body tense.

“ _Mino said it would be better if he knew how to act when confronted with Lycoi,”_ Taehyung explained, his honey eyes not leaving Junhwe’s.

Haneul hummed, visibly not convinced. Junhwe, for one, thought it was a good idea. He didn’t know much about Lycoi and he was curious to know more about them. Moreover, it would probably help him know how he needed to act if he ever was attacked again.

He didn’t like, however, the idea of his “Trainer” being Taehyung. Junhwe had no idea what relationships between Lycoi were like and he didn’t even know Taehyung to begin with but he was sure that the blond didn’t like Junhwe’s closeness with Haneul and even if Hoseok did seem like a nice person, Junhwe was most likely to feel uneasy being in Taehyung’s presence considering the way he was currently being glared at.

His train of thoughts was cut short as they two boys stood up and excused themselves, saying that they had a meeting with Mino to discuss the details of Junhwe’s training. Once the two of them had left the cafeteria, Junhwe took a deep breath, immediately feeling a lot more comfortable.

“ _I know you shouldn’t judge people on first meetings but I feel like Taehyung doesn’t like me much_ ,” Junhwe stated with a sigh.

“ _He did look weird, he is usually a lot more cheerful than that_ ,” Haneul said blankly before adding, “ _You actually met him yesterday morning by the way.”_

The only ‘people’ Junhwe had met yesterday morning were Lycoi. After his talk with Jinhwan, Junhwe now knew that the white one was Seokjin, the Main Omega, the huge greyish one Namjoon, the Main Alpha and there had been only one wolf left whose name he didn’t know. The rather small one with chocolate fur and hazel eyes similar to Haneul’s that had been playing in the snow with the latter. Taehyung had indeed seemed quite playful and cheerful, running everywhere in the snow and Junhwe hadn’t felt threatened in any way. 

Haneul then stood up, taking Junhwe out of his reverie.

“ _I’m a bit cold, could we go somewhere where there’s a working heater?”_ He said with a smile.

Junhwe quickly thought back on all the places he had visited in the hospital but not many were actually heated. There was the hall, but Mino was most likely having his meeting with the two others and the cafeteria, which was in fact not that warm. There was also the rooms, but Junhwe didn’t feel like seeing Haneul’s scary roommate anytime soon. 

“ _Do you want to go to my room?”_ Junhwe then said, suddenly remembering that it wasn’t far and was pretty warm.

He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to invite people into Jinhwan’s room but he was sure the elder wouldn’t mind if Junhwe explained the reason. On the way, Haneul showed to Junhwe where his room was, which actually stood in the same corridor as his own, just a bit further down. They talked about Haneul’s roommate for a bit before entering the bedroom. Once they were in, Junhwe closed the door behind them and looked around the room which was still as clean, but also still as empty from Jinwhan’s presence.

“ _We just missed him, I think_ ,” Haneul said, his nose scrunched up cutely.

“ _How do you know?”_ Junhwe asked as he sat down on his bed.

_"The smell is strong, even in the corridor, he probably just left.”_

Junhwe couldn’t help the pout on his face. He had not seen Jinhwan much the past days and he was kind of missing the elder. He then remembered their closeness from yesterday afternoon and he felt his cheeks heat up. 

“ _You do like him a lot, uh.”_

Junhwe’s head shot up. He could feel his heartbeat pick up and his ears reddening. He looked up at Haneul and tried to lock eyes with his friend but he was glancing away, his eyes stuck on the wall in front of him. His cheeks looked slightly red and Junhwe wasn’t sure whether it was from the cold or not. Junhwe took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down before speaking up.

“ _He is simply a nice Hyung that teaches me things about Lycoi, alike what Hoseok and Taehyung will, I guess, do.”_

“ _Did he teach you anything, really?”_ Haneul placidly said, his voice flat.

“ _W-well, err… since I’m not used to be around wolves yet… he, err, spent some time in his wolf form to help me_ ,” Junhwe stuttered, feeling awkward sharing the moment.

Haneul’s gaze shot from the wall to Junhwe’s confused face. For a few seconds none of them spoke and just kept on staring into each other’s eyes. And then, without saying anything, Haneul walked closer to Junhwe and stopped in the middle of the room. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before swiftly taking his hoodie off.

The scene seemed too familiar for Junhwe not to understand where this was going. He quickly got up from his bed and rushed to  Haneul sides just as he took his shirt off, left with only his pants on. Junhwe stopped in front of his friend and took his wrists in his hands as they were starting to undo his belt.

“ _I’m fine now, really, I’m not scared any more, you don’t need to shift as well!”_ He quickly said as he forced his gaze to stay focused on  Haneul’s face and not his chest.

“ _Then lemme shift and we’ll see if you’re really not scared!”_ Haneul answered vividly as he tried to wriggle his hands out of Junhwe’s grasp.

Before Junhwe could react,  Haneul had taken his belt off and was throwing his pants away. Without meaning to, Junhwe’s gaze went south but he immediately collected himself and closed his eyes, his face redder than ever. Things had went too fast for Junhwe to really comprehend what was happening. What he knew was that  Haneul apparently didn’t want to seem inferior to Jinhwan and needed desperately to shift to show that he was just as capable as the elder to help Junhwe out.

But Junhwe didn’t need to be helped out with this. Well, actually, he did but he’d rather die than admit that he only wanted Jinhwan’s help. He didn’t know who was the most childish one between Haneul and himself but he wasn’t left much time to figure out the answer as he then felt a lick on his hand. He opened his eyes, the scene way too similar to the previous day’s, only that the wolf in front of him was far different. Jinhwan’s head reached Junhwe’s thighs whereas Haneul reached his hip and he was so huge that Junhwe was pretty sure that if Haneul was to stand on his hinder legs, he would most likely be taller than Junhwe himself.

His fur was shorter and looked less shiny and smooth, but Haneul’s jet black fur did make him stand out and even if Junhwe liked Jinhwan’s color better, Haneul was still a very pretty wolf. Junhwe looked at the wolf’s honey eyes and smiled at the way Haneul’s head was hanging low as if he expected to be scolded.

Junhwe wasn’t mad, just a bit surprised as he had not expected Haneul to react that way, the younger had always seemed a lot calmer and collected than this.

But it was actually a good experience for Junhwe because even if Haneul was bigger than Jinhwan, he wasn’t feeling scared at all. Being in front of a whole pack of wolves he doesn’t know would be an entire different story but hopefully, that would never happen.

Junhwe crouched down to be at Haneul’s eye level and gestured for him to come closer.

Haneul’s tail then started to wriggle slightly and he walked up to Junhwe slowly, his head raised and ears pointing forward cutely. When he was close enough, Haneul pushed his head into Junhwe's stomach, nuzzling his muzzle into the other man's chest, his whole body relaxing into the warmth. 

Junhwe slowly raised his hand let it rest right above Haneul's head, unsure as to whether he was actually allowed to pet him or not. He hadn't felt that conflicted with Jinhwan since touching the elder's fur had been such an urge that he hadn't had the time to think his actions through. But now it wasn't Jinhwan, it was Haneul and he was even less close with the latter than he was with the elder, which was actually not that close to begin with.

He wasn't left any more time to think as Haneul straightened his back and lifted his head so that the soft fur behind his ears was ruffled by Junhwe's hand. The huge wolf then closed his eyes, visibly appreciating the attention. Junhwe then moved his hand a bit so that his fingers could scratch behind the wolf's pitch black ears, noticing with a smile how alike to a dog Haneul was acting.

Their time of nice cuddles was however cut short as Haneul's entire body suddenly froze. The wolf slowly walked away from Junhwe, his eyes stuck on the door. He then turned around took his discarded clothes that had been abandoned on the floor into his maw and he ran to the door. With an amazing dexterity, Haneul stood up on his hind legs and proceeded to open the door with his paws, scratching the wood slightly with his claws in the process.

Junhwe slowly stood up, feeling utterly confused. He walked up to the door and looked out into the corridor, seeing Haneul, clothes still hanging from his mouth, opening the door to his own bedroom in the same pattern. Junhwe couldn't understand what could have made Haneul run away. His question, however, was answered fairly quickly as he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“ _What was Haneul doing in our room?”_

Junhwe turned around just in time to see Jinhwan's furrowed brows and confused expression before the elder entered the room. He looked around the room for a few seconds before lifting his head and sniffing the air. Junhwe followed Jinhwan into the room and closed the door behind him before answering the elder's question.

“ _We were in the cafeteria and we got cold.”_

“ _You could have gone to the hall_ ,” Jinhwan stated, voice firm.

“ _Mino was having a meeting with Taehyung and Hoseok,”_ Junhwe explained, feeling a bit lost with Jinhwan's behavior.

“ _You could have stayed with Dongmin and_ _Haneul_ _could have gone back to his own room,”_ Jinhwan shot back as he turned around, locking his dark eyes with Junhwe's.

Junhwe remained silent as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. He didn't know what to do with himself. He averted his gaze and looked down at his worn out sneakers, feeling the elder's eyes boring holes into his skull.

Jinhwan didn't sound angry. He sounded bothered and Junhwe didn't know why. Well, he knew that it probably had to do with Haneul being in his room. Junhwe wouldn't go as far as to guess that it had to do with territory but he did think that it may have been linked. 

“ _I'm sorry?”_ He said, hoping to relieve a bit of the tension between the two of them.

Jinhwan looked up sharply to Junhwe's face, staring into the younger man's eyes. He then sighed and waved the apology off as he sat on the edge of his bed.

“ _You don't need to apologize,”_ he said as he took a deep breath.

Jinhwan then looked conflicted for a second as if he didn't know whether he should confide in Junhwe of if he should just change the topic. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke up.

“ _With the heat coming up you should be more weary of Alphas marking you the way Haneul is.”_

Junhwe raised a questioning brow, not understanding half of what the elder was telling him. He slowly walked up to the other man's bed and spoke as he sat down next to him.

“ _I don't understand what that means.”_

It was with another sigh that Jinhwan answered. _“When the heat approaches, Alphas with mark the Omega they interested in to let the others know that it is already taken.”_

“ _You make it sound like Omegas have no choice in the matter,”_ Junhwe said, feeling his heartbeat pick up when he noticed the proximity with the elder.

“ _We do,”_ he answered, bitterly reminding Junhwe that Jinhwan was also one of those wolves that were to be mated during the heat. _“If we're not willing to mate with the Alphas, we simply don't let them mark us.”_

The problem was that Junhwe didn't know what 'marking' implied. He hadn't felt like Haneul was doing anything in particular to him that could have resulted in him being marked. He also didn't remember Haneul asking him whether he wanted to be or not. That possibly meant two things: marking could happen without him knowing and also that Haneul could have marked him without meaning to.

Junhwe doubted that his friend would purposely try to engage in those kind of relationship with him at all, even less against his will. But those were mere speculations as Junhwe had no idea what the actual mating process and what marking were. 

Jinhwan must have had noticed Junhwe's confusion and hard thinking because less than a second later, he spoke up once more.

“ _Marking is basically making your scent cling to another wolf. Which means that Omegas can actually mark too but since the scent is fainter, it wouldn't be as noticeable.”_

Junhwe nodded, taking in slowly the new information. Haneul had tried to rub off his smell onto Junhwe's body so that other wolf would think of him as taken. The more he knew about the whole marking thing, the more Junhwe was sure that it had not be done intentionally. After all, they had spent quite some time together on that day and he had been quite close physically to the other boy when he had been in his wolf form.

If it was just a matter of smelling like Haneul, then it had probably happened because of their closeness throughout the day.

“ _We've been together for the whole day, of course I'd smell like him, right?”_ Junhwe asked as he thought back on the different interactions they had had on that day.

Jinhwan smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He looked wordlessly ahead before sighing deeply. He shook his head and whispered just loud enough for Junhwe to hear.

“ _That's not how it works.”_

“ _Then what?”_ Junhwe inquired.

The answer to his question never came. Jinhwan's mouth opened as if he was about to speak but closed immediately after. The elder shot up without a word, looking straight at the window before he ran up to open it and glance outside.

Junhwe would have question the elder's antics if he hadn't looked as terrified as he had had in that particular moment. Jinhwan then turned around and just as he was about to speak up, a long harrowing howl broke the silence of the hospital. The keening had sounded so hurt and desperate that Junhwe could only imagine the worse.

“ _You don't leave this room_ ,” Jinhwan stated, more power to his voice than Junhwe had ever heard from the older man.

He could only nod helplessly as Jinhwan rushed outside of the room and locked the door behind him with a key that Junhwe didn't even know existed. As Junhwe stood up to walk closer to the window, another keening, this time closer echoed throughout the silent woods. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that it definitely was not normal. The panic he had seen in Jinhwan's eyes only confirmed his thoughts. Something was happening, something bad, and Junhwe didn't like that.

He then walked back to the door and tried to listen to the sounds in the corridors. Surprisingly, the walls were rather thick and he couldn't make out what was said, if there was actually any word that was exchanged. He could hear the vague sounds of claws hitting the ground and a few barks, indicating that probably all the Lycoi had already shifted.

  


Junhwe waited quite a long time, or maybe that it had only been five minutes. He didn't really know how many minutes had passed by since Jinhwan had left but he knew that the keenings had never stopped and that no matter how long he waited, he was starting to think that it was never going to end.

And then, as if on cue, something rattled at the bedroom's door. Junhwe stood up from the elder's bed and walked up to the door, listening to the odd noise. In any other situation, it would have seemed stupid to think that the sound belonged to claws but with the numerous wolves inside the building and the shape of something white and sharp digging the space between the door and the floor, Junhwe immediately thought of a wolf.

What he didn't know, however, was why a wolf would desperately try to come to his room. Forcefully, at that. It took only a second for Junhwe to realize that he was in danger. That the wolf in front of that door, wasn't probably breaking the door down just to say hello. He quickly backed away from the door and stared in horror as the wooden door was slowly torn to pieces, the silhouette of a huge creamy wolf now visible.

Junhwe didn't have the time to think. He opened the window with so much force that he would have worried about breaking it if his life hadn’t been on the line. Just has he slipped past the frame and ended up outside the building, the door broke down, allowing Junhwe to see, just for a second, the massive body of the creamy white wolf with a familiar scar on its shoulder.

It was the same one that had attacked him that day in the alley-way. The mere sight of the wolf had created such a panic inside Junhwe's brain that for a few seconds, he had stopped moving and he had stared though the window's glass at the wolf. When it leaped towards him, however, Junhwe found the energy to move aside and to start to run. All around him there were only trees and he had no idea where he was supposed to go but it didn't matter. He ran straight ahead, staying close to the building in the hope of meeting a friendly wolf that could help him.

He was scared and he could feel his legs trembling more with each step he was taking. Sweat was making his clothes stick to his back and the coldness of the air made his throat burn painfully. Junhwe could still hear the panting of the wolf behind him and for nothing in the world he would have stopped running.

Yet, he was aware that he probably couldn't outrun a wolf and that his stamina was way inferior to the beast's. Just as he turned a corner, the wolf's paw met Junhwe's feet, making him stumble forward and fall down in the snow. His ankle was hurting and he was pretty sure that he had broken at least a finger in his fall but he had no time to think about his injuries. He gathered all the strength he had and tried to stand up but the wolf was faster.

It leaped forward with such speed that Junhwe had found himself pinned to the ground, trapped between the wolf's claws before he could understand anything of what had happened.

The scene seemed too familiar. The weight on top of his stomach, the maw close to his face, but the fur wasn't of a warm orange shade. It was of a deathly cold white and Junhwe felt his throat constrict with the realization that he could be killed, right now and then. He could feel the tears gather at the corner of his eyes as he had a thought for his mother, prisoner from these same beasts.

Junhwe turned his head on the side, unable to look at the sharp fangs in front of his face any longer. His vision was mainly obstructed from the white snow yet he could see something. There was a dark spot in the distance which looked to be coming closer by the second.

The next thing Junhwe knew, the heaviness restricting his body was gone and instead of one, there were now two wolves. As he sat up, Junhwe noticed that the white one's fur was now tainted with red, probably from the blow inflicted by Junhwe's savior.

The wolf was completely black and for a second, Junhwe thought that it was  Haneul . The wolf however, seemed to be smaller with a less silky fur and a leaner body which immediately  made  Junhwe think otherwise. 

He  then  tried to stand up, whining in pain as he put pressure on his left leg. The black wolf ran back to his side, supporting Junhwe's weight the best he could. The wolf gave Junhwe's ankle a tentative which made him smile weakly. Junhwe looked up to meet the wolf's foreign green eyes, trying to convey his thankfulness. 

Before he could  begin to voice it, however, the creamy wolf jumped ahead, trying to bite the black wolf's leg who immediately backed away before attacking as well. 

Junhwe  attempted with all the strength he could gather to stand up but it was no use. His ankle was hurting too much and his body was still trembling with fear, making him too weak to do anything. He could only watch helplessly for the second time of his life, the titanic battle of two wild beasts. The two wolves were recklessly clawing and biting each other, tainting both of their fur with disgusting patches of red.

A particularly  loud noise made Junhwe's heart hurt as he realized that it had come from the black wolf front leg, indicating that was most likely broken. The keening that followed suit made Junhwe's stomach churn in discomfort as he took in the amount of blood on both the wolves and the now reddened snow.

Another howl from the black wolf was all it took for Junhwe to understand that the creamy one was winning and that at this rate, the black wolf and himself were both going to die. He quickly looked around for anyone or anything that could help but all he could see were trees and snow. Snow. Junhwe stared at the white ground, telling himself that if he was going to die, he should at least try to do something to prevent it. That was what decided him to take a quite good amount of snow into his hands, hissing at the coldness. 

Junhwe didn't think twice before throwing as hard as he could a snowball in the direction of the two wolves. He had never been quite good at aiming but luck must have been on his side as it landed perfectly on the creamy wolf's muzzle.

Junhwe knew that a snowball wouldn't do much damage and that it was probably going to anger the wolf furthermore and would probably result in his own death, but he had thought that if he was lucky enough, it could have been enough of a distraction to help the black wolf to run away.

But the wolf didn't run away. It looked stunned for a second, not expecting a snowball to suddenly blind his opponent but he quickly collected himself as he leaped forward and clawed at the other wolf's throat.

The creamy wolf howled in pain as it backed away, disoriented. Junhwe would have almost screamed in joy if it hadn't lasted so little time. The creamy wolf had immediately leaped forward again, jumping on the black wolf back and tearing its throat with his fangs.

No sound came from of the black wolf as it fell down to the ground, motionless. The utter stillness of the black pile of fur made Junhwe eyes' swell with tears as he was overcame with the realization that the wolf was most likely dead and that he was about to be too.

However, the arrival of three other wolves made Junhwe hope again. He could recognize one of them, which meant that they were all his allies. If the black & white and brown one were completely foreign, the chocolate one with honey eyes looked way too familiar to be forgotten. _Taehyung._ Junhwe let out a deep breath when he saw the creamy wolf back away upon the arrivals of the new wolves. 

The black and white one ran up to the side of the motionless wolf on the ground and positioned himself between the creamy wolf and his friend's body, as if protecting him from any harm. The snarl he let out was all it took for the creamy one to run away, probably not bold enough to try to take on three opponents at once.

The brown wolf ran up to Junhwe and helped him up the best he could, quickly backed up by Taehyung as he came to Junhwe's sides as well. The black and white wolf was still near the motionless body and when Junhwe turned around to look back at them, he felt his heart beat painfully in his chest. 

The motionless body was now bathing in a pool of red blood and no matter how positive Junhwe was trying to be, he knew that the wolf was dead. The other wolf, however, didn't seem to accept it as it kept nuzzling its muzzle into the black wolf's fur, expecting a reaction that would never come.  Then, the black and white wolf let out a harrowing howl, almost as if crying. It slowly lay down next to black wolf, tainting his own fur with the now cold blood, before whining helplessly. The wolf gave a to the other's cold muzzle  and the tenderness of its actions made Junhwe's eyes become wet with unshed tears.

Junhwe quickly rubbed his eyes, refusing for the tears to roll down his cheeks. He had been the one responsible for that wolf's death. He wasn't allowed to cry. 

Junhwe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He glanced up at the sky and all he could see was an endless sea of blue, the bright sun blinding him.

He almost felt like crying even more than if it had been raining. He had never felt so horrible before, yet the sun was shining while he was fighting a war of shadows in a world that no one knew of.

  


He should have never gone for that ice cream in the dark alley-way shop.

(6659 words)


	7. Gleam

December 18th 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe was sitting among many others. There were wolves, there were humans and there was him. All around him, all he could see were tired and bloodied bodies forming a sea of red. He took a deep breath, trying to block out the metallic smell and the images of a dead black wolf associated will the deathly scent.

After he had been rescued, the brown wolf and Taehyung had brought him in the main hall where many others had already been seated, leaving behind them the black wolf's body along with the mourning wolf.

Junhwe had never seen, in his whole life, a sight as heart-breaking as that. He was sure that he was going to keep the horrible image in his memory for his whole life. A pool of blood in which lay the motionless pile of jet black fur. Next to it, the other wolf whose orange eyes had been clouded with a despair so raw that Junhwe could feel his eyes getting wet from the mere thought. He felt responsible. He knew, without anyone telling him, that he had probably broken two lives. The tenderness of the actions and the sorrow of the white and black wolf's keenings had made Junhwe reckon that the two had definitely been mates. If there was one thing Junhwe knew about wolves, it was that mates were a life-time partnership and he was pretty sure that it worked the same way for Lycoi.

His felt his throat constrict and his stomach churn uncomfortably. Junhwe took another deep breath before glancing around him. He had no idea why he was there. He couldn't see any familiar face and he was suddenly remembered of Dongmin. He hadn't talked to his best friend during the whole day and he no idea where he could be. He didn't even know where Jinhwan was.

Just as he started to get worried, a loud voice echoed throughout the hall. Mino was standing at the other end of the room, a young-looking boy right beside him.

“ _The first thing we need to do is to check if everyone is there!”_ The Main Alpha said as he walked closer, making Junhwe notice the blood on his clothes.

“ _Does everyone have their room-mates?”_ The other boy asked in a strong voice that was very much unlike his frail appearance.

Junhwe quickly wiped his head around, trying to find the familiar orange hair in the crowd. People had started moving, wolves squishing themselves in the empty spaces to get to their rooms in order to grab some clothes, and making Junhwe unable to move around. He couldn't see anything among the mob and he could only back away, feeling relief overcome him as his back hit one of the walls.

His ankle was still hurting and he couldn't walk all that much, plus he didn't have a nose as great as Lycoi's and all he could do was to hope that Jinhwan was going to be able to get to him somehow. After a few minutes of confusion, the mass eventually evened out. All the Lycoi had turned human again and they were all sitting by pairs of room-mates, chatting loudly. Junhwe was still standing up and he thus had a good view all the whole room. He immediately spotted the familiar orange shade only a few meters away from him. Jinhwan had visibly noticed him too as he was all but running in his direction, his brows furrowed in worry.

_"Why did you leave the room?_ "  He inquired in a quiet voice.

Junhwe didn't answer. He stared wordlessly at the elder, roaming his eyes around the petite frame. He didn't look hurt. Junhwe couldn't see any blood on the elder's clothes and the thought alone made his heart swell with thankfulness. 

But he had no idea what had happened to Dongmin and that was worrying.

“ _I didn't really want to but the wolf, it attacked and…”_ Junhwe started, getting suddenly cut off halfway.

“ _You were attacked?”_ Jinhwan inquired as he came closer, inspecting Junhwe's body.

A gasp left his lips as he noticed the blood around his ankle, quickly crouching down to get a better view.

“ _You need to get this treated,”_ Jinhwan stated as his fingers ghosted over the wound.

Junhwe knew that the cut wasn't deep. It didn't hurt that much  if didn't put any pressure on his leg  and he wasn't bleeding profusely, but he couldn't help but nod as an answer. He secretly hoped that the one treating his ankle would be Jinhwan, just like how he had done for his arm. As the elder stood up once more, Junhwe  dropped his gaze downwards to meet Jinhwan's black eyes. For a second, Junhwe almost forgot that was standing in the middle of a crowded hallway. All he could see was the worry in the elder's eyes. A worry that he had seen in a white and black wolf's orange orbs a few minutes ago. He  felt sick to his stomach.

The intimate moment the two of them were having was however cut short as the young boy spoke up once more.

“ _Is everyone there?”_

Junhwe looked around as he tried to find familiar faces that could be missing. Right next to him were Hoseok and Taehyung and just a bit further, Haneul with his room-mate, Jiyong. Junhwe still couldn't see Dongmin and considering his best friend's height, he should have been able to see him from afar. Junhwe was starting to have a bad feeling in his gut that he wasn't liking at all.

“ _I can't seem to see Jiminie_ ,” Haneul then said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Junhwe looked back at Haneul, meeting the younger boy's eyes. He, however, didn't hold his gaze and quickly looked away. Junhwe would have pondered on his friends antics if they didn't have a bigger problem at hand. He glanced around him among the mass of people. He had only met Jimin once, but he remembered the man's youthful face well enough to indeed realize that he was nowhere to be found. Whispers among the other Lycoi then started to rise, one inquiring the other when he had last seen him.

Then, in a quiet and hollow voice, the answer came. 

“ _He's still outside.”_

Everyone turned around at the same time, Junhwe included. Hoseok had stood up. He was looking straight ahead in Mino's direction, his eyes solemn.

“ _What do you mean?”_ The Main Alpha asked in a grave voice.

“ _He's with Yoongi…”_ Hoseok trailed off as his eyes shone brightly.

After a few seconds of complete silence, Taehyung stood up as well.

“ _Yoongi's corpse_ ,” he said, his voice empty of any emotions, yet his cheeks were wet with tears.

It took only a second for Junhwe to match the foreign name to the lifeless black body in the pool of blood. He felt his throat constrict as his eyes met Taehyung's reproachful ones. Junhwe knew that Taehyung had all the reasons to blame him, he even did so himself. Yet, the look of hatred and pure rage that he was given made his heart beat painfully, heavy with guilt. Junhwe looked down, unable to hold the other man's gaze any more. He clenched his fists tightly, taking long and deep breath as he tried not to cry. Among the blackness of his closed eyelids, he could still see the shape of a torn throat and a waterfall of ugly dark blood pouring out from the gash. Junhwe then felt one single tear roll down his cheek quickly followed by another one, he was unable to hold them back any more.

“ _Junhwe?”_

He harshly wiped it away, hissing at the pain of his broken fingers brushing against his cheekbone. He had never felt this angry with himself. He hated his own helplessness. He hated his cowardice. He hated his weak and fearful self. 

“ _...hwe?”_

Junhwe bit down on his lips to keep himself from crying, breaking the skin and tasting the metallic blood in his mouth. He could only see, smell and taste blood. There wasn't anything left beside that morbid smell. All he could hear around him was the dulled out sound of voices and people walking around. He felt like crawling under the soil to escape the redness that seemed to follow him.

“ _Junhwe!”_

Junhwe opened his eyes and looked around. The hall was now a lot less crowded and the only Lycoi left were people Junhwe had never seen around. The sole familiar face he could recognize was Jinhwan's.

The elder was standing right in front of him staring up with eyes filled with worry. Without saying anything, Jinhwan slowly raised his hand up to Junhwe's cheek and wiped out one tear softly. Junhwe could feel warmth spreading through his whole body from the elder's fingertips.

“ _What's wrong?”_ He asked with a tenderness in his voice that soothed Junhwe's heart.

“ _He died while protecting me_ ,” Junhwe whispered in a broken voice.

Jinhwan eyes became impossibly softer and as he slowly came closer and raised his arms to hug him with a carefulness that made Junhwe's eyes well up with tears once more. All of his movements were restrained and deliberate, showing that if Junhwe wanted to run away, he could.

But Junhwe remained motionless. He let Jinhwan's arms circle around his waist, bringing their chests closer. He basked in the comforting warmth of the older man, letting a weak smile bloom on his face when he realised that he was so much taller than Jinhwan that he could actually rest his chin on top of the elder's head. The orange locks were tickling his nose and for a few seconds, the smell of blood was gone, replaced by Jinhwan's hair shampoo instead.

“ _Where's everyone?”_ Junhwe then asked, his words muffled by Jinhwan's hair.

“ _T_ _hey went outside to look for the Lycoi that are missing_ ,” Jinhwan answered, his warm breath brushing against Junhwe's collarbone.

Junhwe made a non-committal sound as he closed his eyes, feeling a sudden tiredness invading his whole body. He didn't feel like moving any more. He just wanted to stay there, away from the accusing stares and the smell of blood. He didn't want to see corpses any more either.

“ _Don't fall asleep on me, Junhwe, we need to get your cut cleaned out,”_ Jinhwan whispered, a smile audible in his voice.

Junhwe only nodded, reluctantly slipping away from Jinhwan's hold and feeling immediately colder. 

  


  


The journey from the hall to what they called the nursery had been quite a long one. Junhwe couldn't put any pressure on his ankle because the pain would be too unbearable for him to actually take a step. Which means that they had to get to the room with a half limping 1m80 man who was being helped up by another man 20 centimetres shorter.

When they had finally reached the nursery, Junhwe had been surprised to actually discover what looked like to be an average hospital room. There were many beds that looked rather comfy and many of the open drawers were full with pills and syringes.

Jinhwan then proceeded to give Junhwe some painkillers before taking care as gently as he could of his broken fingers. Then, he took out alcohol and bandage to start dealing with Junhwe's cut. After a few minutes of Jinhwan carefully cleaning out the wound, Junhwe spoke up.

“ _Do you know where Dongmin is?”_

The way Jinhwan tensed made Junhwe's brows furrow with worry.

“ _Yeah, he ran after some of the Alphas to hunt them down,”_ he answered after a few seconds of silence.

Junhwe considered the elder man for a while. He had actually no idea what had actually happened. He had been talking with Jinwhan and next thing Junhwe knew, he was being attacked by a wolf. From what he had understood of pack dynamics, they probably had been attacked by the rival pack, the Iced Ones as Dongmin had called them.

What was odd, however, was why Junhwe would be in any danger. He was a mere human, they already had his mother and he didn't know anything about Lycoi. He had no idea why they seemed to keep coming for him and Junhwe was sure it was linked to the discussion he had had the day before with Mino. The man had straight out lied to him about the reasons of him staying at the den.

Junhwe hissed at the sudden pain caused by the application of a cold substance on his cut. Jinhwan gave him an apologetic smile, adding that it was a cauterization cream. Junhwe stared at the elder man for a few more seconds. Jinhwan was the Lead Omega, and Mino the Main Alpha. They were both important Lycoi in the pack and Junhwe reckoned that if Mino was hiding things from him, it was most likely that there were also other people aware of the true reasons behind Junhwe's presence in their den. But he didn't want to think that Jinhwan had been lying to him.

“ _Hyung?”_

“ _Mmh?”_ He hummed.

Junhwe noted with a smile that Jinhwan didn't seem to mind being called that way any more.

“ _Can I ask you something?”_ Junhwe went on, still a bit apprehensive.

“ _Go ahead_ ,” Jinhwan answered as he gently put a bandage around Junhwe's ankle.

“ _Why am I target_ _ed_ _?”_

The heavy silence that followed already answered half of Junhwe's questions. Jinhwan looked up to meet Junhwe's eyes and the two of them kept on staring at one another without a sound for a few seconds. Jinhwan then sighed and looked away, choosing the resume his nursing instead of answering Junhwe's question. That meant that there was indeed something that was being kept from him, but also that Jinhwan did know about it.

Unexpectedly, the elder was the one to resume the conversation first, only a few minutes after.

“ _I don't know Junhwe. I'll be honest with you. I have no idea why you're being targeted, but you definitely are and Mino knows why but I don't. He refuses to tell me,”_ Jinhwan whispered as if was scared of being heard.

Junhwe glanced at the elder. His eyes were clear of any lie and he knew immediately, that he was being told the truth. Junhwe did think that the first occurrence in the alley-way had been a complete random encounter. What had seemed weird however, was the way they all had reacted when his mum had been kidnapped. She knew about Lycoi, she was helping the Ice Pack's enemies so it did make sense for them to come after her. After all she was a very qualified vet and if they had no one to patch them up after battles, the Iced ones were definitely going to have an advantage.

Junhwe hated the idea of his mother being held as a hostage but it was indeed an important strategic choice. But what about him? He didn't know anything, he was an outsider. Why would they want him? Junhwe didn't know, but it did seem like they were quite keen on getting rid of him for some reason that Mino was aware of.

To think of it, the one who had brought Junhwe to the den had been Jinhwan, probably sent under Mino's command. Junhwe knew that if he wanted information, he would have to go get them from the Main Alpha and the idea was quite terrifying. He still could try to ask Dongmin but he doubted his friend had even realised that something about the whole thing was odd. Dongmin was from a different pack and he had only met Mino a few days ago, he probably wouldn't know anything.

Just as Junhwe was about to ask another question, the door suddenly opened on a sweaty and quite alarmed Dongmin. The boy eyes went from Junhwe's face to his injured ankle along his bandaged up fingers before welling up with tears. Without any warning, Dongmin ran up to where Junhwe was seated and hugged him strongly. 

“ _You scared me you idiot!”_ Dongmin whispered harshly, his tears wetting Junhwe's bloodied shirt.

Junhwe opened his mouth to answer with a sassy comeback but he decided otherwise. He had been scared too. For himself, but also for Dongmin. Even if he didn't like admitting it, Dongmin was someone important to him and he had been terrified when he had not seen him in the hall earlier. He couldn't have helped the images of the black wolf's corpse to slowly change into the familiar black and grey fur of his best friend.

Everything Junhwe had been familiar with had been taken away from him. He was far from his home town which he had never left before, he was sleeping in a bed which wasn't his and he hadn't seen his college friends in weeks. More than anything, his mother had been taken away from him. The only person that was still by Junhwe's sides was Dongmin and Junhwe couldn't even begin to explain how thankful he was. 

“ _You scared me too ,”_ Junhwe said as he hugged his best friend back. He heard Dongmin chuckle, his whole body trembling as he laughed aloud.

The two of them parted, both wearing wide smiles. Junhwe was immediately reminded of their middle school days, when they had first met. They had instantly become friends and Junhwe was thankful that Dongmin had stayed by his sides. He probably wouldn’t have been able to go that far without him. 

Junhwe knew that he should try to help the pack finding the missing Lycoi, but he was too tired to even stand up. Junhwe was exhausted. He couldn't feel his body any more and all he wanted was to keep his head void of any thoughts. Thus, he asked if, although it was still very early, he could go rest in his and Jinhwan's bedroom. Both the elder and his best friend had seemed worried and Junhwe didn't want them to bother unnecessarily. He just needed a good night sleep and he would definitely feel better. 

He just hoped that his nights weren't going to be filled with nightmares.

  


  


  


  


December 20th 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


  
Junhwe had spent the most horrible day of his life. When he had woken up on the 19th, he had known that the day was going to be hard. He had had horrible dreams in which he was drowning in pools filled with red waters. Then, when he had went to the cafeteria, he had had to confront the stares of the other Lycoi, which were nothing compared to the straight-out glare Taehyung had been giving him. He was already blaming himself enough, he didn't need anyone making feel any guiltier.  


The next night had been just as bad. The pools had not only been filled with red waters but also with corpses. Some were human, some were wolves and some were horrible half creatures whose shape were still carved into Junhwe's mind.

He let out a deep sigh as he glanced at his cup of coffee in front of him. He didn't even like coffee to begin with and the only reason he had ordered the drink at the cafeteria was because he had just randomly said the first thing that had come to his mind, desperate to get away from the counter as fast as possible. When he was seated in the dark corner of the cafeteria or hiding in the hall, the stares weren't as present but when he was standing in the middle of a crowded room, he felt like crawling under the ground.

Junhwe didn't usually eat breakfast in the hall. There were no tables, which made the overall experience quite uncomfortable but it was the only place in the whole hospital that was empty from other Lycoi during meals. Junhwe didn't enjoy eating all on his own. It let too much space for thoughts that he wasn't welcoming at all. He would rather eat with other people so that their voices could block out the sound of skin being torn that kept invading his mind. But Junhwe couldn't eat with anyone. The most important wolves of each pack, which are the Mains and the Leads, were eating in a different room. Jinhwan and Dongmin were thus always absent during meals, unless Junhwe actually asked for them to eat with him.

He would have, really. But he hadn't seen them all that much since the attack. If Jinhwan had just been busy, Dongmin was completely avoiding him. Junhwe reckoned Dongmin knew that if the two of them had some time to talk, Junhwe was definitely going to ask about the fight. Because Junhwe did want to know. He had no idea why they had been attacked and he was curious. Plus, he also needed to ask Dongmin if he knew the reason behind Mino's lies.

Just as Junhwe finished drinking his coffee, making a face from the bitterness, the door leading to the hall opened. Junhwe quickly turned around. He prayed for the person not to notice him, hidden in his spot but he immediately knew it was not going to happen when the other boy started walking straight towards him. Junhwe wasn't sure whether he should feel scared or not. He was responsible for one of the pack members' death, he had been expecting people to come after him to avenge their friends and he had almost been surprised to only receive stares instead of fists.

However, when the boy's familiar youthful face came into vision, Junhwe's worry immediately transformed to panic. The only person Junhwe didn't want to talk to was Jimin. He didn't know what he could do or say. He could only apologize but he felt like it would have somehow been offending. And so, he remained silent as the other boy stopped in front of him, less than a meter away.

“ _Hi,”_ Jimin whispered, his small voice echoing in the utter silence of the empty hall.

Junhwe answered with a nod, unable to open his mouth. He slowly raised his gaze, looking as discreetly as he could at the other man. Jimin looked even thinner than before. His skin had a pallid glow which made him look disturbingly alike Taehyun.

“ _We're going out to take a walk, would you like to join us?”_ Jimin then asked, his lips thinning out in a tired smile.

Junhwe couldn't hear any hate dripping from the other man's voice. All about his posture and expressions showed how exhausted he was but there was nothing akin to despise present in his orange eyes. Junhwe didn't know if he could just accept and actually have a nice walk in the now warmer weather. He didn't want to force himself upon Jimin.

“ _I'd really appreciate it if you came_ ,” Jimin then added as he wasn't receiving any answer.

Junhwe's eyes shot up to the other man's face. Jimin was looking back, his eyes disappearing into crescents as he smiled genuinely. Junhwe had been expecting anything but this. Before he could even begin to gather his thoughts, Jimin went on.

“ _You're not responsible for Yoongi's death.”_

Junhwe felt his throat constrict as the thoughts of the other wolf invaded his mind. He hadn't known that he had been craving for those words until he had heard them. Junhwe was tired of the stares, he was tired of crying and above everything else, he was tired of hating himself. He was thankful that Jimin wasn't reproaching him for Yoongi's death. Taehyung was already enough, he didn't need someone else guilt-tripping him. Junhwe took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down, pushing away the memories of the attack.

“ _Thank you.”_

Jimin smiled again, it seemed more genuine this time. “ _Are you coming?”_

“ _Who will be there?”_ Junhwe asked, actually quite delighted to get some fresh air after being stuck in a mental hospital for days. But he couldn't possibly go out with Jimin if there were too many people present, he wouldn't feel at ease.

“ _A few friends from my pack. Jinhwan will be there too,”_ he added with a cheeky smile.

Junhwe could feel the blood rushing to his ears. He had no idea why there were so many people implying that something was going on with Jinhwan and Junhwe would have kept going on that topic if he hadn't suddenly remembered the situation Jimin was in. It did occur to Junhwe that maybe Jimin and Yoongi had not been mates because if he had seemed heart broken two days ago, Jimin seemed quite alright for someone who would just have lost the love of his life.

He still wouldn't risk asking Jimin directly though.

“ _I'm coming then, when do we leave?”_ Junhwe asked as he stood up, mug in hand.

Jimin seemed to think for a second. He then started to walk away, motioning for Junhwe to follow him in the main corridor which led to the cafeteria. As they stopped in front of the hinged doors, Junhwe nervously looked over at Jimin. He didn't want to walk into the cafeteria when it was that packed, especially not with Jimin.

“ _I'll go put your mug back, take that corridor there and meet me outside,”_ Jimin said as he gestured toward a small alley on his left.

Junhwe stared dumbly at the other boy as he took the mug and entered the cafeteria, leaving Junhwe behind without any further notice. It took a few seconds for his brain to register that Jimin had actually offered him a way to avoid going into the crowded room and he definitely appreciated that. Junhwe proceeded to take the corridor just as Jimin had instructed and less than two minutes later he had found himself in front of the same hinged door, but on the other side of the cafeteria. He had no idea that he could actually go around the room that way and he was definitely going to use that corridor a lot more often from now on.

When Junhwe stepped outside of the building, the first thing he noticed was that the snow had melted quite a lot. Instead of the endless snowy white forest, he could now see bushes and grass, the green colour invading the immaculate winter that was now slowly coming to an end. Junhwe was wearing a light jacket with only a sweatshirt underneath yet he didn't feel cold. The sun was warming up his whole body in a comforting way that vaguely reminded him of Jinhwan's hugs for some reason. Junhwe could feel his heart beating faster and the blood rushing to his ears.

“ _Keep your thoughts in order, human, your smell is already disgusting enough when you're not thinking.”_

Junhwe turned around, the warmth immediately leaving his body when he met the other man's deathly cold honey eyes. Taehyung was standing in the Hospital's door frame, motionless as he kept glaring in Junhwe's direction without saying anything else.

Thankfully, Taehyung didn't have much time to let his rage out as Haneul arrived a second later. He looked from Junhwe's rigid posture to Taehyung's hate filled-eyes without speaking. He slowly walked down the few stairs that were leading to the forest path and sat down on a nearby huge rock, visibly waiting for the others.

The atmosphere between the three of them was so tense that Junhwe almost felt like going back into his room and give up on the nice walk he had been invited to. But it was the occasion for Junhwe to have a talk with Haneul. Dongmin had not been the only one avoiding him and if Junhwe could find reasons to explain his best friend's behaviour, he couldn't begin to understand why Haneul had been acting that way towards him. He had first thought that it may have been linked to Yoongi's death but unlike Taehyung, Haneul's honey eyes weren't filled with hatred.

Before Junhwe could ponder more on the other boy's behaviour, the main door opened once more as Jinhwan, Dongmin and Jimin left the building. Junhwe's eyes immediately shot up to meet the elder's black ones as he smiled softly. Junhwe didn't find the heart to smile back with Taehyung's eyes glaring at him. He simply glanced away and started to walk towards the main path, joining Haneul on the rock and thus completely missing the sadness in Jinhwan's eyes. The other boy visibly tensed up when Junhwe sat down, but didn't say anything.

Dongmin and Jinhwan walked down the stairs, quickly followed by Jimin who immediately ran to Taehyung's sides and began to talk with him, making his attention shift from Junhwe to the other boy. Junhwe felt like he could breathe with more ease now that he wasn't being glared at any more. He quickly glanced at Haneul beside him but the boy was looking at Dongmin and Jinhwan as the two of them started to walk down the main path. Jimin and Taehyung followed suit, still talking together.

Junhwe stood up, quickly imitated by Haneul. The two of them followed the four other boys in the forest, a heavy silence between them. Junhwe's ankle was still hurting, he wasn't able to walk very fast and although Haneul seemed to ignore him, he kept close to his sides, walking at the same pace although they were much slower than the others.

After a while, the six of them came to a stop near a river. As Junhwe sat down on the grass, he took the time to breathe in deeply the earthy scent of the woods and look around him. The river's waters were running smoothly, the surface mirroring the sun's light. Junhwe was vaguely reminded of his dreams, but the calmness of the forest made him feel at ease. There were no corpses and the only sounds he could hear were those of birds chirping. Red was nowhere to be found. He quickly glanced at Taehyung but the other man wasn't paying attention to him at all. He was speaking with Haneul animatedly, his honey eyes lit up with a fire completely different from the hate filled ones that he seemed to keep for Junhwe only.

Taehyung seemed like a nice person. When he wasn't glaring at Junhwe, he was constantly laughing, playing tricks on the other Lycoi and Junhwe was sure that they could have been friends in a different life where he hadn't caused his friend's death. 

Junhwe looked around to find Jimin. He was still worried about the older boy and he felt like he needed to make sure he was alright. But Jimin seemed like he was quite fine. He was talking with Dongmin, a small smile gracing his features. It didn't seem forced and Junhwe felt relief overcoming him. Dongmin on the other hand, looked like he was quite flustered. His face was red and he kept clearing his throat, visibly uncomfortable. 

Junhwe had never seen his best friend like this before and he was definitely going to ask Jimin what his secret was, he didn't have enough black mailing material on Dongmin. Before he could stand up, however, Jinhwan came closer to him and sat down, their legs touching.

“ _How are you?”_ He asked.

Junhwe didn't know what to answer because he, in fact, didn't know how he felt. He didn't want to making Jinhwan worry but he didn't want to lie either.

“ _Better,”_ he whispered back.

He must not have been very convincing because Jinhwan' eyes immediately filled up with worry and his brows furrowed. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak but a loud noise attracted both their attention to the river. 

Haneul and Dongmin had both somehow ended up in the water and were now wrestling, trying to drown one another. They weren't the only one who had suddenly taking a liking to frozen water. Taehyung was holding Jimin in his arms as he ran towards the river and dropped the other boy right in the water. Dongmin then pushed Haneul away and rushed to the shore, pulling Taehyung in the water as well to avenge Jimin who was now completely drenched. 

The four of them were laughing, having fun and Junhwe almost felt jealous. He wished he had friends he could feel as comfortable with as Dongmin was. He was a Lycoi, and his pack was like his family. They were all closer to one another than what Junhwe would ever be with anyone.

Just as he was about to get up and walk away from the river, Haneul ran out of the water and rushed to Junhwe's sides. Next thing he knew, Junhwe had been thrown in the river as well and was now completely soaked to the bone and colder than he had ever been.

He got up, the water arriving mid-waist, and glared at Haneul, who was smiling widely in a boyish manner that made him look younger than what he was. Junhwe was definitely going to avenge himself.

  


  


Junhwe sighed as he threw his drenched and full of weed sweater in the bin. It was his favourite one, right after the coffee-stained one. He put on a warmer sweatshirt, still frozen from the cold water battle that he had had earlier. The six of them had gone back to the den for lunch since they all had things to do. Jinhwan and Dongmin were required for a meeting with the Main Alpha and the Main Omega who's name he now knew. Kim Jinwoo, who was in fact the young-looking boy he had seen on the day of the attack.

Taehyung had said that he needed to talk with Hoseok about Junhwe's training and then had left – not without a glare – and Jimin wanted to rest. Junhwe was pretty tired himself and he needed to get warmed up if he didn't want to catch a cold. Haneul had ran off without saying anything and so, Junhwe had no idea what the other boy was up to.

Junhwe let out a sigh as his back hit the mattress. He snuggled under the warm blanket and closed his eyes. He wasn't so exhausted that he would need to take a nap but he wasn't going to eat until 3 anyway, which was the time at which the cafeteria was the most empty. 

Just as he was starting to drift off to sleep, Junhwe heard a knock on the bedroom door. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes sleepily before mumbling a small _“Yeah?”._

“ _It's_ _Haneul_ _, can I come in?”_ The voice said, quite muffled by the closed door.

It took Junhwe a few seconds to register what he had just heard. He had been so sure that Haneul was avoiding him, and yet the boy was right in front of his bedroom door. Just as Junhwe was about to tell him to come in, he was suddenly remembered of what Jinhwan had told him the other day about Marking.

But Junhwe was going to trust his friend.

“ _Yeah, come in.”_

Less than a second later, the door opened and Haneul walked in. He had changed clothes as well and was wearing a warmer sweater but his jetblack hair was still slightly wet. He was holding a trail filled with food which he put down on the nearer desk before closing the door behind him. Junhwe got up and walked up to the other boy, glancing at the trail.

“ _Were you sleeping?”_ Haneul asked, his ears red.

“ _Was about to. What's that?”_ Junhwe said as he gestured toward the desk.

“ _Well, food.”_

Junhwe bit back a laugh as he glanced at Haneul. The boy was standing up right, all tensed up and his ears red. Junhwe had no idea why Haneul was so uneasy around him all of a sudden but he found it hilarious.

“ _I can see that, thanks, but why?”_ Junhwe asked with a smile.

Haneul's blush deepened. He looked around the room as he remained silent, trying to evade Junhwe's amused stare.

“ _Well, I know you don't like eating in the cafeteria so…”_

Junhwe's brows shot up in surprise. He had not expected Haneul to be so thoughtful, but he did appreciate the gesture. He sat down at the desk and began eating, chewing on the tasty steak. A few minutes later, when he was finished and had cleaned up a bit, Junhwe sat back down on his bed, quickly imitated by Haneul who sat at the other end. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Haneul suddenly spoke up, taking Junhwe off-guard.

“ _I hate war_ ,” he mumbled as he turned his head to look at Junhwe.

It had been sudden and quite random, yet Junhwe felt like he had known they would somehow end up talking about the fights. Junhwe had never heard, in his whole life, a sentence so simple and yet so meaningful. He was reminded of the blood, of the fights, of death, and he couldn't agree more with Haneul's statement. He hated war more than anything in the world. He hated that people were dying, claiming that it was for the war's sake. No one should ever die for something as horrible as that.

“ _My parents_ _hated it_ _too_ ,” Haneul then added after a few minutes of silence.

Junhwe glanced at the other boy. He had never mentioned his parents before and the way his jaw had tensed at the words, Junhwe could only imagine Haneul's relationship with them.

“ _They ran away, left their pack, abandoned me as well as their brothers and sisters and joined Achroma,”_ Haneul whispered as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Junhwe could understand them. He would have ran away as well if he had had the chance. But would he be safer somewhere else? The Ice Pack seemed to want him and he was sure that no matter where he would go, they would always find him again.

“ _What's Achroma?”_ He asked, wondering if he could have went there if his situation had been any different.

Haneul seemed to think his answer through before speaking up, as if he was trying to find the best words to explain.

“ _It's some sort of not conform pack made of various wolves all around the country that live by their own rules and take no part in conflicts_ ,” he finally said, his voice bitter.

Junhwe could understand the way Haneul probably felt. Instead of fighting, his parents had chosen to leave him behind and join a group of outlaws to escape the fights. But who could blame them? Junhwe didn't want to fight either. He wanted his own haven.

“ _I should go,”_ Haneul said after a while as he took the trail, _“Hoseok wanted to see me.”_

Junhwe nodded, his mind still full of war related thoughts. He got up to bid goodbye to Haneul and once he had been left alone in the room, he collapsed on his bed to let his mind drift off. He thought of his mother who he had not seen in weeks and for whom he was still worrying. He wanted to see her.

Just as Junhwe sat up in his bed with a sigh, the door to the bedroom opened once more. Jinhwan entered the room and closed the door behind him right away. He glanced at Junhwe with a small smile before joining him on his bed. Junhwe couldn't help but notice the way the elder seemed uneasy. His shoulders were tense and his ears were red.

“ _Do you have anything planned this evening?”_ Jinhwan then asked, clearly uncomfortable.

“ _Well, no. Why?”_ Junhwe inquired, a brow raised in puzzlement.

Jinhwan then stood up from the bed and walked up to the door. He glanced back at Junhwe as he turned the handle.

“ _Could you meet me outside the Hospital after dinner then?”_ He asked as he opened the door, his cheeks red.

Junhwe nodded, clearly lost. He stared at the elder as his shoulders sagged in relief, all tension leaving him. Jinhwan grinned happily as he left the room, adding that Junhwe shouldn't forget to dress warmly. When the door closed, leaving him alone, Junhwe stood up and walked to his night stand on which lay his phone. 

He had no service which made it quite useless but he could still check the time. It was 1pm and Junhwe had never wished for dinner to come as much as he currently did, although he had just eaten lunch. He smiled to himself as he remembered Jinhwan's happy grin, still a bit confused but too delighted to care.

Junhwe stretched out with a sigh before dropping back on his bed. He couldn't wait for night-time.

(6811 words)


	8. Strengthened

December 20th 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe shuddered as the wind blew slightly stronger on his face. He should have brought a scarf. The moon had already risen and the forest was enveloped in darkness. The sky was still clear of any cloud and Junhwe could see some stars that weren't hidden by the tall pine trees all around him. The temperature, however, had gotten a lot colder and he regretted not dressing warmer. Jinhwan had even warned him.

Junhwe felt his cheeks heat up when he thought back on the elder's invitation. He had no idea where Jinhwan meant to bring him to but he was too happy to spend time with the elder to care, no matter how cold he was.

Just as he turned around to look at the Hospital, the main door opened and Jinhwan walked out of the building. He was wearing warm clothes and only his eyes and hair were still visible, the rest of his face hidden away under a comfy scarf. 

“ _Are you ready to go?”_ He asked, his breath forming a small cloud of smoke as he spoke.

Junhwe nodded, still motionless as he kept on staring at the elder. Jinhwan walked down the stairs quickly and joined Junhwe on the road. He looked up to meet the younger man's eyes before smiling brightly; Junhwe grinned back without even really meaning to, too engrossed in the other man's prettiness to be mindful of his usual expressionlessness.

The two of them then started to walk down the small road in silence, their hands brushing occasionally. Junhwe would never admit it, but the feeling of the elder's small and warm hand brushing his cold one had made his heart beat faster than ever. 

Junhwe couldn't recognize where they were going. Woods always looked the same, no matter in which part they went into, but Junhwe couldn't even tell in which direction the Hospital was any more. He had thought at first that Jinhwan was going to bring him to the river but the walk had already lasted too long for them to actually be headed there.

It was after ten more minutes of walking that Jinhwan stopped, informing Junhwe that they had arrived. There were less trees than anywhere else in the forest and Junhwe even thought that they might had left it but when he followed Jinhwan a bit further, he realised that they were in fact in a clearing. 

The grass was tall and the space huge, making the place look more like a meadow than a clearing. Some clouds had gathered in the sky and when Junhwe looked up, he noticed that he couldn't see the stars any more.

After a few seconds of standing in complete silence, Jinhwan sat down in the grass, almost disappearing under the tall walls of green. Junhwe quickly imitated him, sitting right beside him and bumping shoulders with the older man in the process. He looked up to the sky once more before sighing. Everything around him was black. He couldn't even make out Jinhwan's features any more and he was cold, yet Junhwe felt good. The calmness and the utter silence of the woods was soothing his soul more than any empty words could ever have.

Then, slowly, the clouds began to part. The two dark seas broke apart, letting the pristine moon rays shine down the now lit up swathes. The moon was almost full, which made Junhwe smile as he remembered the old stories he had always heard about werewolves. If only the other humans knew that these beautiful creatures did exist, although slightly different than the one from their tales.

The clouds were now completely gone and the black sea full of darkness was filled with the small dots of lights that were the stars. Junhwe deeply breathed in the earthy scent as he closed his eyes. Behind his shut eyelids, he could still see the dark red stains that seemed to never disappear but they didn't look as haunting as they used to be a few days ago. It was alike a constant itch that seemed to remind him of what he had caused but didn't hurt any more.

“ _Are you feeling better?”_

Junhwe opened his eyes again and glanced sideways at the elder. He remembered being asked the exact same question less than a day ago, and yet the answer seemed to have already changed.

“ _Yeah_ ,” he answered truthfully as a smile bloomed on his face.

It didn't feel like a lie, and Junhwe knew it was all thanks to the elder. Jinhwan looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, basking in the comfortable silence that had settled between them.  Junhwe didn't feel like looking up any more, staring at the elder's face without him knowing felt like a better sight to take in. His whole complexion was lit up by the pale glow of the moon, giving his already white skin a pallid colour that made him look like a ghost. Everything about Jinhwan was unreal. Junhwe had never in his life admired someone as much as he admired the other man.

Just as Junhwe was about to glance away, Jinhwan opened his eyes, observing the dark sky without saying a word. Junhwe felt his heart beat pick up as he studied the elder's face. His cheeks were sightly red from the cold and his lips were pulled up in a small smile that seemed to light up his face more than the moon ever would. His gaze was soft as he stared unblinkingly ahead, his long eyelashes barely grazing his clear skin. 

“ _It's pretty, right?”_

Junhwe jumped in surprise, he had not been expecting Jinhwan to speak up and it took him a few seconds to proceed the elder's words. He almost forgot to answer and the time it took him to create a coherent sentence, Jinhwan had already spoken up again.

“ _But not as pretty as me,”_ he added with a cheeky smile as he glanced at Junhwe, his head tilted backwards in a childish manner.

Junhwe almost agreed but kept himself from doing so. He did think that Jinhwan was pretty, he had always thought so, but admitting it aloud to the elder was an entire different story. He didn't want Jinhwan to misunderstand his feelings for romantic ones.

The elder had stopped staring at Junhwe and had resumed his observation of the night sky instead, his sharp jaw tilted upward as he studied the white moon. Junhwe took a deep breath as he tried to stop his hammering heart. He knew he couldn't keep on lying to himself the way he had been doing, but what else could he do. He didn't even know how couples worked for Lycoi, even less between a human and a Lycos.

It took less than a second for Junhwe to decide that he didn't care either way when Jinhwan scooted closer, burying his head into Junhwe's shoulder as he claimed to be cold. The older man was so close that Junhwe could smell his coffee-like scent, his orange hair tickling his jaw. His heart beat had picked up once more and the blood had rushed to his face. Junhwe looked down at the man in his arms and noticed the way his own cheeks were reddened. He wanted to believe that it wasn't from the cold.

He might need to ask for a book explaining how to flirt with a Lycoi.

  


  


  


  


December  21 st 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


When Junhwe woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that the room was still completely dark, although the curtains had been left open. He lazily stretched out in his bed, yawning comfortably. He then looked at the time on his phone, sighing when he realised that it was only seven. He and Jinhwan had come back to the hospital very late the day before and Junhwe was still tired but the outing had definitely been worth it. He could still remember the warmth he had felt in his core no matter how cold the night had been.

Junhwe  would have gone back to sleep  but he needed  to use the bathroom.  And so, Junhwe got up from his bed and walked up to Jinhwan's bed, checking whether the elder was still sleeping or not.

The slight movement under the blanket and the mop of orange hair on the pillow proved that Jinhwan was indeed still there. Junhwe felt his heart beat faster in anticipation as he scooted closer and tried to push the blanket away from the other man's face. Just as the familiar heart shaped mole was coming into vision, Jinhwan rolled onto his side, facing the wall. Junhwe sighed, he was completely dejected. He didn't want to risk waking up the elder and chose to go to the bathroom instead. 

The moment he entered the corridor, however, he almost thought of holding it in and going later when the sun would have risen. Everything was pitch black, making the building even more eerie than it already was in broad daylight. Thankfully, the bathroom was just a few meters away right after the corner. Junhwe gathered the little courage he had and walked ahead, keeping close to the wall. He tried not to scream when he felt something running close to his foot, probably a rat, and kept on going until he reached the white door of the bathroom. At least, the toilets were clean and there was light.

When he opened again the white door, ready to leave the bathroom after he had been finished, Junhwe came face to face with Taehyun. The other boy seemed just as surprised as Junhwe felt himself, his droopy eyebrows rose so high that they almost reached his hair line. When the surprise was gone, a second later, the boy gave Junhwe an unsettling smile that dug unhealthily his stunted cheeks in.

Junhwe swiftly left the bathroom, ready to run back to his bedroom but as he was about to, Taehyun spoke up.

“ _You shouldn't trust them.”_

Junhwe turned around quickly and stared into the other boy's lifeless eyes. He had come closer, his musky yet discreet scent invading Junhwe's nostrils. He didn't want to talk with Taehyun, but the boy's odd words had made him curious.

“ _What do you mean?”_ He asked as he took a step back, the proximity making him feel ill-at-ease.

“ _Mino,_ _Haneul_ _, even Dongmin and Jinhwan. They're all liars,”_ he answered with a hoarse laugh that shook his entire frail boy.

Even if Junhwe did not entirely trust Mino, he knew that he could believe Dongmin and he didn't think what Taehyun was saying was true. Junhwe shrugged and started to walk away, but the boy kept on speaking.

“ _The Ice Pack wants you.”_

Junhwe stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to turn around, he didn't want to keep hearing what Taehyun was saying and so he walked ahead till the end of the corridor, walked past the corner without looking back. He couldn't hear anything, which probably meant that Taehyun had not followed him.

As Junhwe was about to open the door to his room, he heard his name being called in the distance. He feared for a second that Taehyun had actually come for him but he quickly realised that it wasn't the case when the tall silhouette and large shoulders of Hoseok came into vision. 

“ _What are you doing up so early?”_ He asked as he stopped in front of Junhwe.

“ _I needed to use the bathroom.”_

Hoseok seemed to study him for a few seconds without saying anything. Junhwe almost thought that he was going to blame him for what had happened on the day of the attack, just like how most Lycoi had been doing. But Hoseok's brows furrowed with worry as he stared at Junhwe before speaking up.

“ _Are you alright? You look pale.”_

Junhwe fought the surprise off his face.

“ _Yeah, I'm fine, just had a talk with Taehyun_ ,” he answered with a sigh that spoke for itself.

Hoseok nodded as he made a non-committal sound. He started to walk away, stretching up in the process as he added:

“ _I've been told not to mind him too much, you should do the same.”_

Junhwe nodded, more to himself than for Hoseok who was already at the other end of the corridor, saying that he had a meeting with Taehyung. He did want not to mind what Taehyun had told him, but it was hard not to. He didn't even know how the boy could even know those kind of things. It did occur to him that considering how little sane Taehyun looked, he might have been hearing voices or suffering from schizophrenia, and yet he couldn't help but feeling nervous.

But Junhwe wasn't going to tell anyone about this. The main reason was that he did not believe Taehyun. It also was because Junhwe didn't want to unnecessarily worry the other Lycoi. He had noticed how agitated they had all been with the heat coming up and the recent fight. The last thing that kept Junhwe from telling the others about Taehyun's words was that he was in fact scared for the boy. He pitied him. Taehyun was an outcast and Junhwe reckoned that he wasn't that much liked within the pack any more. Everyone was avoiding him and ignoring him. He didn't need people coming after him because he had said some weird things without thinking.

Junhwe sighed deeply as he opened the door to the bedroom. It was too early for those kind of worries. The light were still off but Junhwe noticed as he closed the door that the room was now slightly more lit as the sun was starting to rise. Just as Junhwe started to draw the curtains in an attempt to help Jinhwan stay asleep, he heard the elder speak.

“ _Where were you?”_ He mumbled, his voice muffled by the blanket he was hidden under.

“ _Toilets_ ,” Junhwe whispered back as he sat down on his bed.

Jinhwan let out a tired grunt that Junhwe understood as an acknowledgement. He couldn't blame the elder for being exhausted, he felt the exact same way. Junhwe would have gone back to sleep but he already felt too awake to actually lie back down. Plus, he'd rather speak with a now awaken Jinhwan.

“ _Did you sleep well?”_ Junhwe asked, his voice only a whisper.

“ _Yeah, you?”_ Jinhwan mumbled back as he rolled on his side, facing Junhwe.

Junhwe nodded. He felt awkward. He didn't know what he could really talk about with the elder and he didn't want the other to think of him as a pushover. Thankfully, Jinhwan seemed to have more things to talk about than himself as he spoke up quickly after.

“ _I heard voices in the corridor_ ,” he stated, stretching out on his bed before sitting up.

“ _I was talking with Hoseok_ ,” Junhwe answered, purposely not mentioning his encounter with Taehyun.

“ _Oh, right, he had to wake up early for a meeting with the Trainers this morning.”_

Hoseok had indeed mentioned Taehyung. Junhwe felt a chill run down his spine. Even the mere thought of the dark honey eyes made his stomach churn with guilt. Junhwe remembered that he was going to be trained by him and the only pros were that Hoseok would be there and that Junhwe would learn more about Lycoi. He didn't want what happened to Yoongi to take place ever again.

“ _Is there something that worries you?”_

Junhwe glanced up at the elder's face. He was looking straight ahead, his gaze unwavering as he scrunched up his nose cutely. Junhwe knew what that meant. He was being smelled and no matter how hard he would try to deny, Jinhwan knew exactly what Junhwe was feeling.

“ _Taehyung hates me...”_ Junhwe mumbled, feeling oddly alike a scolded child for some queer reason that he couldn't quite explain.

Jinhwan hummed in thoughts as he glanced away from the curtains from which light was pouring out into the room. He got up and draw them, letting the sun light illuminate the room in a warm and cosy glow.

“ _He's simply jealous,”_ Jinhwan said as he opened the window, shuddering slightly under the chill morning wind.

Junhwe raised a brow in puzzlement. The reason why Taehyung despised him was that he had caused his friend's death, he couldn't see how that was related to jealousy. Jinhwan then turned around and smiled at Junhwe's cluelessness. 

“ _You haven't noticed?”_ He asked, his grin widening when Junhwe shook his head _. “It's because of the heat coming up.”_

Junhwe still didn't understand how the upcoming heat was related to Taehyung's hate. Jinhwan must have known of his confusion as he started to explain himself right away.

“ _See, when the heat is near, most Lycoi want to find a mate, Taehyung included_ ,” Jinhwan said, his ears reddening.

Junhwe hoped that it wasn't Jinhwan's case.

“ _And he sees you as a hindrance that keeps him from the Lycos he wants to mate with.”_

Junhwe understood what it meant. He was being too close with the person Taehyung was in love with and he did comprehend that it would make him angry, but who in the world could it have been? The only Lycoi Junhwe was really close with were Dongmin and Jinhwan and he had never seen them interact in that kind of way.

“ _Who's that Lycos?”_

Jinhwan seemed surprised, the question taking him completely off guard. 

_"You really don't know?”_ He inquired, disbelief heavy in his voice.

Junhwe shook his head. He would have felt stupid if he didn't feel as clueless. He couldn't think of anyone. But the good side of this was that Junhwe now knew that Taehyung didn't seem to resent him for Yoongi's death as much as he had been thinking he did.

There was still one thing that Junhwe had meant to ask for a long time but he had never really found the good time nor the actual courage to ask. He could already feel his face heat up from the mere thought of the matter he was going to inquire about.

“ _How does the heat work, really?”_

Junhwe had expected the elder to blush and look as awkward as Junhwe felt but he didn't at all. He seemed to think for a moment, probably trying to find the most accurate explanation before speaking up.

“ _Well, it's a time where couples become official through Mating.”_

Junhwe knew that already. What he was interested in was the actual heat and more precisely what Mino had meant a few days ago when he had said that they were going to put the Omegas out of heat.

“ _I meant the Heat in itself_ ,” he mumbled, feeling his face heat up.

Jinhwan remained silent for a second and Junhwe thought that he might have asked something he wasn't supposed to but the elder ended up answering his question, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.

“ _It's very similar to wolves, really. Omega will feel weak and hot and… Uhm… bothered... and the only way for them to stop the heat is either to get help or wait it out.”_

From what Junhwe had gathered, the first option was the one the pack had chosen. Waiting would be too dangerous for his mother and they couldn't possibly save her with only half of their forces.

But that meant that Jinhwan was going to be “helped” as well and Junhwe didn't like the idea at all. He kept telling himself that it was necessary and that no one was going to enjoy their help, yet he couldn't help feeling weird thinking of what was going to happen to Jinhwan.

Just as Junhwe was about to ask about that matter, the elder walked up to the door as he spoke up.

“ _I need to talk with Mino, you should go back to sleep, it's still early_.”

Junhwe nodded and watched in silence as Jinhwan left the room, closing the door behind him. He was still curious and there were many things he still wanted to ask but it would have to wait. He was indeed still tired and going back to sleep didn't seem that much of a bad idea, Junhwe didn't have anything else to do anyway.

And so, he climbed back into his bed and dropped his head on his pillow, breathing in deeply the smell of the clean sheets. He stretched out comfortably and rolled on his side, facing the white wall. Junhwe closed his eyes and gave a last thought to his mother before drifting off to sleep once more.

When Junhwe woke up, the sun was already high up in the sky and the room was lit brightly by the strong and warm rays. Getting up was hard. He still felt tired and he didn't want to leave the room. He had checked his phone some time ago and he knew that it was time for lunch. Junhwe was indeed hungry but he didn't want to go to the cafeteria when it was so crowded. 

Junhwe left the room ten minutes later, dressed and more hungry than ever. He sighed deeply as he arrived in front of the hinged doors. He could see the shape of Lycoi all over the place and the noise that seeped through the closed doors was loud enough for Junhwe to reckon that the number of people inside the cafeteria must have been quite big.

Ever since the fight, Junhwe had avoided eating during rush hours as much as possible. He didn't like their stares and reproachful eyes, but he knew that he couldn't possibly keep on hiding forever. Jimin had even told him that shouldn't blame himself for Yoongi's death and Junhwe was very thankful for those words. He took a deep breath before pushing the hinged door and entering the cafeteria, the voices a lot louder now.

There were people everywhere and Junhwe quickly looked down, scared of meeting their eyes. He went straight for the trails and the food, filling up his plate as fast as he could before sitting at an empty table in a corner.

For some reason, the stares didn't seem as strong, Junhwe could almost not feel anyone looking at him in particular. He quickly glanced around him and realised that no one was paying attention to him and Junhwe had never felt so thankful for being ignored in his life before.

Once he had finished eating his meal, Junhwe got up, put the trail back and left the cafeteria. He didn’t know what to do. He had nowhere to go in the building and no one to talk to. He knew that Jinhwan was busy and Junhwe didn’t know where Dongmin was. He missed his best friend. Junhwe felt like the two of them had not talked in days and he needed to talk to someone.

Junhwe’s life had been turned up side down in a few days only and the only anchor that still kept him grounded was Dongmin. Even if he had discovered that Dongmin had never been entirely truthful with him regarding who he really was, Junhwe couldn’t blame him. Dongmin must have been scared and if Junhwe had ever felt angry, he definitely wasn’t any more. Junhwe sighed as he walked down the main corridor, taking a turn into the corridor where his bedroom was. He walked passed the door and took another turn. He remembered where Dongmin’s room was.

Junhwe then thought of his mum. The last time he had seen her was two weeks ago. He missed her smiles and her voice. Junhwe felt like an abandoned infant, as if he had never been separated from his mother before. He had, in fact, never been close with her. He was aware that he had been quite a difficult teenager to handle and even if he had never admitted out loud, he was thankful that his mother had been so patient with him. 

Junhwe had always been acting like a child, and he had never stopped being one. He regretted his behaviour. He couldn’t help thinking of the last talk he had had with her. It had been on the Thursday when he had left for Dongmin’s flat. He had acted like an idiot and he felt the guilt eating him alive. His mother was being held captive by a bunch of wild wolves who could kill her in a second. He didn’t even know if she still was alive and even if she was, it didn’t mean that she would stay unharmed for long.

If his mother died, Junhwe didn’t know what he would do. He would be alone, parent-less, and eaten away by the guilt of never apologizing properly. He wanted to thank his mum, he wanted to tell her how much he was sorry for being the ungrateful son that he was, and he wanted to tell her that he loved her. Junhwe didn't even know when the last time he had told her that he loved her was.

Junhwe felt the tears prick at the corner of his eyes. He took a deep breath and stopped walking. He was still far from Dongmin’s room, he had the time to put himself back together. He knew that Dongmin’s nose wasn’t nearly as good as Jinhwan’s but he was sure that his best friend wouldn’t need to smell his sadness to know that something was wrong.

“ _Junhwe?”_

He jumped in surprise before swiftly turning around. Haneul was standing a few meters away, a look of concern marring his features. Junhwe quickly wiped the tears away and forced a smile as he walked closer to his friend.

“ _Hi, what are you doing here?”_ He asked, realising that Haneul’s room was at the other end of the building.

“ _I smelt you_ ,” he stated simply as if that mere sentence explained everything.

And it did explain. Junhwe now knew enough what the differences between Lycoi and human were. He was well aware of the fact that his own scent was quite strong and considering that it changed depending on his feelings, he should have expected for at least a Lycos to smell him. 

“ _Are you alright?”_ Haneul then asked as he came closer.

Junhwe simply nodded as an answer. His throat felt to tight for him to speak up without tearing up. He knew that Haneul wouldn’t laugh at him and he could trust his friend to keep his secrets but Junhwe didn’t feel like sharing. He just wanted to see and speak with his best friend. He was truly missing him.

After all, he didn’t know Haneul all that much and he still had the Marking thing to talk about with him. Plus, the boy had been acting quite odd around him lately and Junhwe felt like he needed to have a talk with him. But now was not going to be the time.

“ _I’m just gonna go talk with Dongmin if you don’t mind…”_ He said as he started to walk away.

As he was about to turn the corner, Junhwe felt a hand on his wrist pulling him backwards. He turned around and faced Haneul without blinking. The other boy was looking straight at him with eyes full of concern. Junhwe knew that if Haneul kept on staring at him that way, he was definitely going to break down. He forced a smile and shrugged the other boy’s hand off before taking a step back. Before Junhwe could speak up, however, the two of them were interrupted by a loud laughter coming from the end of the corridor.

“ _Oh, if it isn’t Haneul!”_

Junhwe wiped his head in the other direction, seeing two men he had never seen before approaching them. The first one that had spoken up was quite tall with wide shoulders. He had very light blonde hair that almost looked white from afar and deep brown eyes lit up by a mischievous glow. The other man had short dark shabby hair and although shorter than the former, he was a lot more muscular and imposing. He somehow reminded Junhwe of Mino, but unlike him, that man had a friendly face, lit up by a big and welcoming grin.

“ _Look how close these two are!”_ The blonde man cooed again as he ran up to them and put a friendly hand on Haneul’s shoulder.

The other boy’s face had gotten red and he was glancing away, visibly embarrassed. He took a few steps back, getting further away from Junhwe discreetly. The blonde man visibly noticed as his smile widened even more before ruffling Haneul’s hair.

“ _Don’t tease the boy too much, Seokjin,”_ the other man said  as he came closer, still smiling brightly.

It took less than a second for Junhwe to realise he knew the name. Jinhwan had told him that Seokjin was the white wolf he had met on the first Saturday of the holidays. Junhwe glanced at the man but couldn’t see anything that could remind him of the wolf he had seen that day, beside the colour of his hair. He remembered the wolf’s mightiness and it’s elegant ways. The man, with his too wide smile and casual manners seemed very far from the image Junhwe had gotten from their first meeting.

“ _Good to see you again, Junhwe,”_ Seokjin then said as he walked up to him, “ _I’m Kim Seokjin, The Swamp Pack’s Main Omega.”_

Junhwe nodded in acknowledgement. He had figured, on their first meeting, that both the white wolf and the shabby dark wolf were important wolves in the pack. Junhwe glanced sideways at Haneul and smiled when he noticed the way the boy was holding himself a lot more formally now. He was reminded of Dongmin’s first meeting with Mino and how uptight he had looked.

“ _I’m Namjoon, Main Alpha,”_ the man with short hair then said, bringing Junhwe’s attention on him.

The fact seemed a bit surprising to Junhwe. Namjoon was alike Mino, but so different at the same time and although he did look imposing, instead of fear Junhwe felt some sort of admiration and trust. He remembered that Namjoon was in fact the grey shabby wolf from the same Saturday but didn’t comment on the last meeting and silently watched them as the two men's attention shifted to the younger boy.

Haneul clearly looked uncomfortable. He kept glancing away, his shoulders hunched in what Junhwe interpreted as a submissive behaviour that Lycoi probably displayed in front of higher ranked wolves. Junhwe couldn’t help but smile at his friends antics. The other boy had always acted all mighty around others, especially with Dongmin and yet he was being a nice puppy in front of these two men.

Seokjin laughed aloud as Haneul whined, shrugging Namjoon’s hand that had been ruffling his hair away.  It had been a while since Junhwe had seen such a nice sight. Friends playing around together, laughing and sharing good times. Recently, Junhwe had only seen fights and he missed the warmth of friendship. He missed warmth in itself. He missed the one his mum used to give him when he was younger. Junhwe could feel his heart beat painfully in his chest once more but he quickly pushed the thoughts away, aware of the fact that he could be smelt. He didn’t know how good were Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s noses but he knew that Haneul’s was good enough to notice those kind of emotions.

Junhwe glanced at his friend and instantly met his honey eyes. Haneul looked concerned, his brows furrowed in worry and his nose scrunched up. Junhwe gave him a small smile before glancing away. He didn’t want to bother them with his own problems. He was well aware that talking about his mum and how much he was missing her wasn’t going to get her back. He was pretty sure that no matter how childish and selfish he sounded, Haneul wouldn’t mock him, but he’d rather keep that matter to himself.

Plus, the three of them looked way too carefree and happy for Junhwe to bother them. He looked back at the trio, feeling his heart warm up at their closeness. He was then reminded of the day when they had went to the river and how friendly all of them had been with one another. Junhwe had never paid much attention to that fact, but Dongmin had actually been living with these people for what was probably quite a long time. His best friend had a whole family that Junhwe had ever heard of before getting to know Lycoi’s existence. He knew that he shouldn’t feel jealous but he couldn’t help the ache in his heart.

Dongmin had many friends, he had a pack. He was an important Lycos in that pack and people were probably looking up to him and Junhwe was pretty sure that his best friend was very well liked by the others.

After all, Dongmin was nice and caring. He could come out as a bit too serious sometimes but Junhwe admired him for his thoughtfulness, something he himself definitely didn’t have. Unlike him, his best friend always tried to make others come before him. Junhwe was a lot more  self-centred and he was well aware of his quite complicated personality. He wasn’t sociable and he never did something out of pure kindness. 

Junhwe had never really wished to be different from how he had always been. But recently, he was becoming more aware of how his flaws could affect others. Junhwe hated himself for that, but he knew it had took him someone’s death to realise to he needed to change. 

He took a deep breath and looked back at Haneul. His friend immediately returned the stare, as if he could feel Junhwe’s eyes on him. He still looked as concerned and before he could question him, Junhwe gave him the brightest smile he could manage. He didn’t usually smile a lot and he felt a bit awkward grinning so openly and widely but it did make him feel better. Haneul looked confused for a second, visibly not expecting Junhwe to act that way. Junhwe himself didn’t really know what he as doing. He knew that he was tired of being sad and that he wanted to be happy again.

After a few seconds, Haneul returned the smile, his honey eyes disappearing into crescents. Junhwe could feel a pleasant warmth spreading throughout his whole body and the smile becoming more genuine. He was still worrying about his mum but he knew that for now, he just should enjoy happiness while it sill lasted.

Junhwe still wanted to see Dongmin and although he was enjoying the three men’s company he bid them goodbye. Haneul had offered to come along but had immediately decided otherwise when Junhwe had mentioned going to see Dongmin. He didn’t really know why these two seemed to hate each other that much. He did understand, based on what Jinhwan had told him, that it was related to dominance and Lycoi stuff. It seemed like a shame to Junhwe, he was sure that the two of them could have gotten along well.

He sighed as he arrived at the end of the last corridor. He stopped in front of the white door that he knew to be Dongmin’s room’s. He gathered his thoughts for a second, pushing all negative things away and keeping only the good ones. He needed to be positive. He didn’t want to worry his best friend and he knew that if stopped brooding over spilt milk, things would improve.

He wasn’t going to forget what he had caused. He was going to remember it, he wasn’t going to keep in his memory the images of that day and he was going to become a better person to make sure that he wouldn’t have to live that ever again.

It was with another sigh that Junhwe finally knocked on the door, keeping his breath regular and mind clear although he could feel the same guilt eating his heart again. Junhwe was pretty sure that he had knocked on the right one, but had immediately started questioning his memory when a boy he had never seen before opened the door. He was slightly shorter than Junhwe but a lot leaner. He had small dark eyes that that glinted with the confusion of a person who had not been expecting any visitors. Junhwe gave the man an awkward smile and remained silent, unsure as what to do. He could feel his face reddening from the embarrassment.

“ _Uh, yeah?”_ The man asked, his lips stretching out in lop sided smile that showed his bunny teeth.

“ _I was looking for Lee Dongmin, he’s… Uh, the Lead Alpha of the Swamp Pack and…”_ Junhwe trailed off, staring at the other man’s face.

He looked confused for a second before his whole face lit up.

“ _Yeah, he’s my room-mate, I’m Kim Jiwon by the way, Cloud Pack’s Lead Alpha.”_

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgement. Dongmin had indeed told him that he was rooming with the other Lead Alpha to reinforce the alliance. 

“ _I didn’t get to talk to him much since he’s so busy,”_ Jiwon laughed, excusing his lack of knowledge on his own room-mate. “ _I’m pretty sure he’s in a meeting again actually.”_

Junhwe sighed deeply. Each time he had been looking for Dongmin, his best friend had always been somehow unavailable. He thanked Jiwon and proceeded to walk away, hearing the sound of the door closing shortly after.

Junhwe didn’t have anything to do and the only thing he wanted was to see his best friend. He thus decided that he was going to go back to his room and wait a few hours before looking for his best friend again. Hopefully, the meeting would be finished by that time.

 

 

(6314 words)


	9. Lee Dongmin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a back story chapter. It just kind of relates Dongmin's life and since it's quite long (~8500 words) it could get boring and if it is the case, I deeply apologize. This chapter is however quite important in understanding the different relationships between the characters and even if there is no relevant information regarding the actual plot, I do think it should be read.  
> Bear with me :3

July 4th, 2007, Jeju Island.

  


  


Dongmin was crying. He was sitting in a dark corner, not too far from the village but still far enough from the other Lycoi. He could hear people calling for him, probably worried. He had been hiding for a few hours already and he was sure that he was going to get in trouble if he didn’t come back to the village. But he didn’t want to. Everywhere he went, people stared at him with a look of pity that made him feel sick. He knew that the other members were trying to be careful and thoughtful, yet it only made him feel miserable. 

Today was his birthday but Dongmin didn’t feel like partying. He was sure that the whole pack had probably made something for him, maybe there was even a cake. But what wouldn’t be there would be his parents. He didn’t want to celebrate his birthday without them. He knew he was going to eventually. He couldn’t possibly hide in a corner for the rest of his life but he wished he could.

“ _There you were.”_

Dongmin’s head shot up. In front of him was the small silhouette of Jinhwan, the Main Alpha’s son. The two of them had never really talked, even if they were quite close in age. He knew that the boy was 13, three years older than himself, yet he was already considered as the most promising Lycoi of the pack. Everyone had great expectations for him and compared to Dongmin who was a nobody, Jinhwan was everything that he wasn’t and would never be.

Dongmin didn’t not say anything nor did he move. He didn’t want to look up to the other boy’s eyes, he knew what they would be like. Full of pity. A pity that he was sick of and that he didn’t need to see in anyone else’s, especially not in Jinhwan’s. Being considered inferior by the adults was humiliating enough, he didn’t need the same treatment from a young boy like himself. 

“ _What are you doing here?”_ Jinhwan asked with a soft voice as he sat down next to Dongmin.

Dongmin remained silent. He didn’t want to talk to Jinhwan, nor could he. He knew that if he tried to, his voice would break down into a sob. 

“ _We were really worried you know,”_ Jinhwan said as he scooted closer, bumping shoulders with the younger boy.

Dongmin really did doubt that. He wasn't anyone important in the pack. Just another orphan. Even his parents had not been important – his mother being a mere pup Care-taker and his father one of the many Fighters. They had died in a useless war and no one had been crying them. No one, but Dongmin. He couldn't bear his own pack any more. All the adults were hypocrites who made themselves believe that war was a noble thing. But Dongmin knew it wasn't.

He had seen the war. He had seen the blood. Lycoi were violent, dangerous, and Dongmin wished he wasn't one as well. He wanted to escape from his village, run away from the wolves and live on his own. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to.

“ _I hate war.”_

Dongmin's head shot up. He glanced sideways at the older boy who was looking ahead in the distance. It was a warm summer day but the wind made the weather seem even milder. Jinhwan's orange locks were tangled from the wind and the sun was lighting up his clear complexion. He was a beautiful child and Dongmin was envious, yet he couldn't seem to hate the boy. Jinhwan was just like himself. A mere infant caught in a war that he didn't want to fight for. They didn't even know why they were fighting in the first place any more. Was it for territory? Was it for conquests? What Dongmin knew was that the war had already lasted too long. It was older than himself. He had never known peace yet he was craving for it. 

“ _I want to run away_ ,” he whispered, more to himself than to Jinhwan.

“ _You,_ _Dongmin, you_ _can. I want to, but I can't,”_ Jinhwan answered as he looked back to Dongmin's dark eyes.

“ _What do you mean?”_

Jinhwan sighed. He stood up and walked out of the little cavern they had been hiding in. The sun was lightening up his whole body, making his fair skin stand out even more. He smiled sadly as he spoke up once more.

“ _I am the Main Alpha's son, I can't leave the pack. But you could if you asked my father.”_

On that day, Dongmin realised two things. He liked Jinhwan and admired him for his strength. He also understood, in that small discussion, that no matter how much he envied Jinhwan, he was actually the one who had the better outcome in the end.

  


  


  


July 6th, 2007, Jeju Island.

  


  


It took only two days to Dongmin to finally gather enough courage to go meet the Main Alpha. He wanted to go away but he knew that he couldn't simply run off without any notice. Jinhwan had told him that he could, and so, Dongmin was going to try.

The first thing Dongmin noticed when he entered the Main Family's house was the smell. As a mere pup, he didn't have a sense of smell as strong as adults but the Alpha pheromones present in the room was the strongest thing Dongmin had ever smelled. It made him feel even smaller than he already was and he didn't like it. 

When he had knocked on the front door, a very nice lady had allowed him in, asking for him to stay in the living-room while she went to fetch the Main Alpha. Dongmin had never seen her, but he reckoned she was one of the Care-Taker of the pack, just like his late mother. 

Less than a minute later, the door opened to reveal the pack's Main Alpha. Dongmin had already seen him many times, of course, but he had never been so close to him nor had he ever talked with him. He could feel his heart beat faster in the fear of rejection. He knew it was his only chance at getting away.

“ _What do you want, Pup?”_ The man had asked in a low voice.

“ _I would like to leave, Main Alpha,”_ Dongmin answered, his voice so small in comparison that he wasn't even sure the man had heard him.

The other man seemed surprised. He kept silent and stared at the young boy, as if assessing him.  Dongmin waited with baited breath. He had come with no plan whatsoever. He had just hoped, from the bottom of his heart, that the Main Alpha was going to let him go.

“ _And why do you want to leave?”_ He then asked as he sat down on a couch opposite of Dongmin's seat.

The young boy felt his heart beat pick up. 

“ _I don't feel at home any more.”_

It was the truth. Dongmin didn't like sleeping in his home alone. He didn't like walking around the village he was born in when it was empty of his parents' presence. He couldn't smell them, feel them any more. And most of all, he didn't like the other Lycoi. He couldn't bear they way they looked at him and he wanted to go somewhere he would feel welcomed and loved.

“ _And where would you go?”_ The man asked, staring unblinkingly at the young Lycos.

Dongmin had not thought that far. He didn't know where he could go. He was sick of the war and he knew that no matter the pack he went to, it would still be there. The only option he had was to join Achroma, but he didn't want to. He had heard stories about the people there. How they were outlaws who only cared about themselves. What Dongmin wanted was a haven.

“ _I don't know, Main Alpha,”_ Dongmin admitted after a few seconds of silence.

The man seemed lost in thoughts for a moment, which made Dongmin hope. He had not been straight out denied yet and the Main Alpha didn't look angry, which was a plus. 

“ _What about going to a human family, then?”_

Dongmin felt his blood freeze in his veins. He despised humans. If there was one option that he had never even started to consider was living among people. He didn't want to live in a pack any more, he didn't want to live as a Lycoi. But that didn't mean that he wanted to live as a human. They were selfish and cowardly.

Dongmin looked up to the other man's eyes. The main Alpha was looking straight at him, his face serious. Dongmin could feel the anger welling up in his core. He didn't want humans to replace his family, no one could ever. He wanted his Mom's embrace and his Dad's homey smell, yet he knew he couldn't never feel that again. Dongmin didn't need new parents, or a new home. He just wanted to go far away from the Lycoi war, and far away from the humans he despised. Dongmin had even thought of living like a regular wolf for the rest of his life, that would have always been better than being with humans.

The Main Alpha had probably smelt his rage because less than a few seconds later, he quickly added:

“ _They wouldn't be like a new family, just a home to stay at. We can't possibly let a 10 year-old boy out in the wild on his own.”_

Dongmin was well aware that they couldn't, but he wished they could. He gritted out a few polite words and left the Main Alpha's house without further ado. The weather had gotten colder and the sun was starting to set, colouring the wide sky in a pretty orange shade. It reminded him of Jinhwan's hair.

Dongmin took a deep breath as he tried not to cry. He just wanted to be happy, but even that it seemed like he couldn’t have it. He wanted to leave, run away right in that moment without saying goodbye to anyone and never come back. But what could he do, a young boy lost in woods in the middle of a war. He would be killed, either by his own pack for being considered as a traitor or by the Ice Pack, which would see him as an enemy.

He hated his own pack almost as much as he hated their enemies. The Ice Pack was an age old pack that was made up of the finest lineage of Lycoi, Arctic Wolves. They considered themselves the only race that was worthy of living on and had thus decided to eradicate all the others. Dongmin was a Timber Wolf, just like his parents, and was among the most common races. 

It was the main reason why his parents had been killed. The Ice Pack had considered them as dirt that was to be cleaned out of the Earth, and Dongmin despised them for that. His pack was the Shore Pack and its Lycoi went by the names of the Foamy Ones. They were also an old pack, made up of various races but mainly Red Wolves, which was considered to be the purest kind after the Arctic Wolves. 

Dongmin knew that his pack didn’t see races as something important, but they hadn’t done anything to protect the lowest races that had been targeted by the Iced Ones. To him, it was just as if his own pack had caused his parents death and Dongmin resented all the Foamy Ones for it.

It was one of the reasons why he wanted to leave.

“ _How did it go?”_

Dongmin turned around swiftly, startled by the light voice breaking the silence of the village. Jinhwan was standing a few meters away, an easy smile gracing his features.

“ _He said I could leave but I need to go with the humans,”_ Dongmin answered bitterly, feeling his throat constrict with disappointment.

Jinhwan looked surprised for a second. He stared in silence at Dongmin, before glancing away at the orange sky. The warm colour gave the village a pleasant glow, making it look less hollow than Dongmin thought it was. After a few seconds of silence, Jinhwan eventually spoke up again.

“ _You don’t want to?”_

“ _Why would I?”_ Dongmin answered straight away.

Jinhwan seem to ponder on the right thing to say. He sighed before coming closer to Dongmin, stopping only a meter away.

“ _You are right to hate us, but the humans haven’t done anything wrong_ ,” he whispered in a quiet voice.

Dongmin looked up to meet Jinhwan’s black eyes. They were empty of any pity or negative thoughts and were instead glowing with a kindness that warmed Dongmin’s heart.  Jinhwan was a Red Wolf and thus had never needed to worry about being targeted and although Dongmin wanted to hate him, he couldn’t find the strength to do so.

“ _I don’t hate you though...”_ Dongmin whispered back as he glanced away, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Jinhwan chuckled lightly as he came closer to Dongmin and embraced him in a hug. The honey smell reminded Dongmin of his mother and he couldn’t help but feel the tears gather behind his now closed eyelids. He took a deep breath and pushed all the bad thoughts away, basking in the pleasant feeling a hug always procured.

“ _You should accept and leave_ ,” Jinhwan said after a while as he stepped away.

Dongmin nodded. He knew that Jinhwan was right. He didn’t have any other way of getting away from the war and although he didn’t like humans much, he was aware that they weren’t responsible for anything that had happened in the Lycoi world.

He gave a last glance to the now darkening sky. The clouds were parting and although the temperature had considerably decreased, Dongmin was warm. He wanted to get away, and he was going to.

  


  


  


18 th November 2008, Jeju.

  


  


Dongmin yawned as he looked out of the window. The sky was still pitch black and he knew that it was still way too early for the other children to be up. Dongmin usually woke earlier than the others. It was mainly because he wanted to have as little interactions with them as possible but also because that was how Lycoi lived. 

Being among humans had seemed weird at first. Dongmin had quickly noticed many differences between him and them and although he wasn’t hating the other children, he had no friends and nor did he want to make some. 

He had been staying at the Hong Ik Boyookwon Orphanage for a year already and the number of interactions he had had with others was probably less than ten. The Main Alpha had told him that he couldn’t just make his way into people’s life. He needed to learn human ways, get a proper education but also papers. The pack had gotten the latter pretty easily, but Dongmin still needed to be adopted or to reach the age of 19 to live his life the way he wanted.

He was hoping not to be adopted. He’d rather wait 10 years in the orphanage and then leave. He had been told by the headmaster that usually adoptions were mainly done by young couples and these people were looking for babies, not young boys like him. His chances of being adopted were low and Dongmin liked it that way.

However, when he left his room to go to the refectory, Dongmin immediately knew that he was going to hate his day. He had ran into one of the teachers that had told him excitedly with a huge grin that a couple had come to meet him. They had come all the way from Seoul, apparently very interested in him from the Orphanage’s website’s profiles.

A few hours later, Dongmin had been brought into one of the meeting rooms and sat on one of the chairs. The lady went on saying that he should be nice and seem like a well educated child if he wanted them to adopt him. But the thing was that Dongmin didn’t want to be adopted. He simply nodded and kept on waiting silently. A few minutes later, the door opened again and a couple entered.

Dongmin didn’t exactly remembered what he had felt that day. Everything was a blur of faces and words and he couldn’t really recall how he had acted or what he had said. He just remembered that he had somehow pleased the couple and it came as a surprise to him when he was told, a few days later that he was going to be adopted.

He had expected to stay in the orphanage until 19 and had somehow gotten a new family along the way. Dongmin knew that they could never replace his own parents but at least, they didn’t know his past and wouldn’t look at him with pity. His official profile said that his parents had died in a car crash and he knew that even if it did sound weird that he had no other relatives and that his parents’ bodies had somehow never been found, no one was ever going to ask details.

As long as he was happy, he didn’t care where or who he was living with.

The only problem was that his new family lived in Seoul, which meant that he would have to leave Jeju. Dongmin had had no contact with his pack throughout the last year and he knew he wasn’t going to miss them. He was going to miss the salt in the air and the warm weather. He had never been anywhere else than on his little island. He was slightly scared of going to capital where he would only be surrounded by humans.

Dongmin knew that the Main Alpha had probably kept on watching over him in silence and he figured out that he probably didn’t need to tell them he was leaving. He reckoned they probably already knew.

Dongmin was certainly worried, but he was also excited. He couldn’t wait to see how different the capital was and even if he knew he wasn’t going to have any friends, he was quite looking forward his knew life. For the first time in what felt like a long time, Dongmin’s lips stretched out in a genuine smile.

  


  


  


  


1st December 2008, Seoul.

  


  


Dongmin hated school. The other pupils there were all childish idiots that were good for nothing besides causing trouble. There was too much noise, too many smells and way too many people.

He had only been attending school for a week and he already knew that he liked it better at the orphanage. The things they were being taught in his new school were way too easy and yet no one seemed to understand.  Dongmin didn’t like any of his classmates and he felt like he was constantly surrounded by dummies.

He knew that the other children didn’t like him either any way. He had caught some of them laughing while staring at him and few imitating his way of speaking. Seoul was colder, bigger and he felt like the people there were speaking an entire different language. Some words were different and the pronunciation of some changed completely.

At least he felt slightly better now compared to before. The couple that had adopted him,  Mr. and Mrs. Lee, were very nice and never pushed him to do things he didn’t want to do and although their relationship was still a bit awkward, Dongmin liked them.

He sighed deeply  as the school bell rang, announcing that the day was finally over. Dongmin packed his things slowly as he still had some time to kill. Mrs. Lee finished working an hour later than Dongmin’s last class on Fridays he had to wait for her in the school playground.

The cold wind blew strong on Dongmin’s face when he left the main building and went to sit on a bench. Being a Lycos had its perks since he wasn’t much affected by the weather. He liked the feeling of the gust tangling his black locks and even if the sky was sad and grey, Dongmin felt pretty good.

After a few minutes spent watching the sky and enjoying the silence, Dongmin heard the sound of footsteps. He slightly turned his head in the direction of the rustling noise and saw the approaching silhouette of a boy. Before he could even  start to  make out his features, his strong smell hit Dongmin’s nose,  stronger than any others even the Main Alpha’s . The scent was so peculiar that he almost thought, for a second, that the boy was also a Lycos.

“ _Hi, uh, you’re Lee Dongmin, right?”_ The boy asked, cheeks red.

His smell, although odd, was completely neutral and Dongmin knew that, unlike the others, he wasn’t here to mock him. The boy stopped a meter away from Dongmin, hands in his jacket pockets and remained silent for a few seconds. He looked up and his dark eyes met Dongmin’s for a second before he immediately glanced away. His face was crimson and the slight change in the boy’s smell quickly got Dongmin’s attention. He was  embarrassed.

“ _I’m Koo Junhwe, same grade but my home-room is at the other end of the corridor,”_ he finally said after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Dongmin nodded in acknowledgement. He had never  seen the other boy around before but he was definitely never going to forget him now. He was sure he could now recognize his unusual smell anywhere.

“ _I, uh, heard you talk the other day, and… Your accent… It sounds really cool!”_

Without any further ado, the boy ran away, his strong smell trailing behind him. Dongmin remained stuck in place, too confused and surprised to react. He breathed in the scent once more, feeling a smile blooming on his face at the boy’s embarrassment. He had never considered his accent something positive since all of the other children had been making fun of him, but he suddenly felt like he ought to appreciate his way of speaking more. 

Dongmin sighed before stretching out his arms above his head, feeling a pleasant warmth spread out in his whole body. Maybe school wasn’t as horrible as he thought it was.

  


  


  


5th January 2009, Seoul.

  


  


  
Dongmin woke up at dawn, as always, feeling happier than he had ever been. For the first time in his life, he had slept over at a friend’s house and the mere foreign smell of clean bedsheets made his heart beat faster.  


Junhwe had invited him over on Monday, saying that they had the house for themselves the whole night since his mother had to stay over at her work as a canine vet. Dongmin expected to see her that day, he had never met her and he felt that he needed to thank her for allowing him to stay over.

They were currently on holidays and Dongmin had planned on staying from Monday to Wednesday and although it made him feel a bit uneasy to stay in someone else’s house for so long, Junhwe had told him it wouldn’t be a problem.

Dongmin left the guest room he had slept in and went down the stairs to the living room. He couldn’t hear any noise coming from the room but the lights were on and there was a vague foreign smell hanging in the air. With baited breath, Dongmin crept closer to the door and looked inside. He felt his heart stop when he saw the unmoving silhouette of a lady sitting at the main table. He could smell her a lot more now and her scent was so different from Junhwe’s that Dongmin almost thought that the person in front of him wasn’t Mrs. Koo.

When she turned around however, Dongmin immediately recognized Junhwe’s dark eyes and high cheek bones. They looked too much alike for her not to be his mother but the smells were not matching. Dongmin didn’t have the time to ponder on the reasons of this odd fact as she looked straight into his eyes and spoke up without even blinking.

“ _You’re a Lycos.”_

Dongmin felt the panic freezing his whole body. He didn’t know what to do or say. She was definitely human, yet she seemed to know about their existence and had somehow guessed that he was different from the others. He knew that telling their true nature to a human was breaking the Lycoi Laws and he definitely didn’t want to get in trouble but what was he supposed to say in that kind of situation?

“ _Don’t deny it, I’ve been around too many of your kinds not to notice the subtle differences_ ,” she added before standing up and walking closer to Dongmin.

She had long black hair and although she was most likely approaching her forties, Dongmin thought she looked beautiful. Her face was grave and solemn as if she didn’t know how to smile and yet she looked peaceful. Her eyes were cold and the way she held herself was elegant and restrained in a way that revealed her wealthy background. Dongmin immediately felt the urge the bow to her as he would have to a higher ranked Lycoi, but remained stuck in place.

“ _What pack are you from?”_

The words caught in his throat. He felt too nervous to speak and he had to take a deep breath and cast his gaze downwards to finally find the strength to open his mouth.

“ _The Shore Pack_ ,” he whispered, his voice incredibly smaller.

The lady nodded as she hummed in thoughts. She walked closer to Dongmin, her white and long doctor cloak rustling from her movements. She stopped right in front of him and stared down at him without blinking. Her eyes were void of any emotions and Dongmin didn’t know what to do. His instincts were screaming at him to bow down like he should but he knew that showing that kind of submission to a human would just look weird, even stupid.

The two of them remained motionless for another few minutes before Dongmin finally gave up and slowly bowed his head. He could feel his cheeks reddening from the embarrassment. He didn’t even know if she would understand the gesture.

“ _Raise your head, Pup.”_

And Dongmin did. She was smiling, the expression almost looking odd on her straight face. She looked pleased and Dongmin then realised that he was being tested. That person obviously did know all of the Lycoi gestures and Dongmin had no idea why. He knew that some Humans were aware of their existence and were actually helping them staying in the shadows, but it was his first time meeting someone so Lycos-like.

After a few minutes of silence, she gestured for Dongmin to sit down with her at the table. She introduced herself as Junhwe’s mum, Koo Chaemin. She worked as a canine vet in her own clinic and she had been aware of Lycoi’s existence for quite some time. She told Dongmin that she was closely linked to the Cloud Pack, a quite recent gathering of wolves from the Shore Pack and some other smaller packs. Dongmin had never heard of the Cloud Pack before but he was indeed aware that some of his old pack mates had left for Seoul to join a pack that wanted to actively fight for Lycoi’s rights.

Dongmin didn’t dare asking any questions, even if he was dying to. No matter how hard he was listening, he still didn’t understand how Chaemin could have been so familiar with Lycoi’s lives. It seemed as if she was purposely keeping away from that subject and Dongmin didn’t want to press the matter. She obviously had a stronger level of dominance than himself, even if didn’t like admitting that a human could even know how to properly use it.

From his conversation with Chaemin, Dongmin had gathered a few things. Firstly, if he ever had a problem, he knew he could come to her since she knew everything regarding Lycoi. He also knew that Junhwe had no idea what Lycoi were and that he needed to keep that a secret from him.

Dongmin’s new life seemed like it was going to be quite interesting. 

  


  


  


  
30th April 2011, Seoul.  


  


  


The moment he smelt him, Dongmin felt his blood freeze in his veins. He had not smelt another Lycos’s smell in years and he had almost forgotten what it was like but he knew that he wasn’t wrong. It was a nice smell really, discreet yet very sweet. It vaguely reminded him of his mom’s smell and he immediately realised that the other boy had most likely already presented and was an Omega.

Dongmin looked around the almost empty street. He couldn’t see the other Lycos and he had no idea where he was but the smell was strong enough for Dongmin to be sure that he was close to him.

If the other boy was indeed an Omega, he had most likely smelt Dongmin as well since their noses were way sharper than mere Pups like him.

Dongmin heard him before he saw him. Furtive steps behind him, and then a hand on his wrist pulling him backwards into a smaller alley-way. Dongmin quickly turned around to face the other boy. He looked slightly older than Dongmin but they were about the same height. Dongmin didn’t praise himself for being especially tall but he was indeed already taller than all of his classmates. The boy had plump red cheeks and a wide smile that reached his cute dark eyes. His hair was black and shiny, a lot alike Junhwe’s. He was wearing a sweater too big that covered his small hands making him look younger than what he probably was.

Now that Dongmin was even closer to the other boy, he could confirm his theory. The smell was subtle but unmistakably sweet. It vaguely reminded him of cherries.

“ _Hi, my name’s Jimin, what’s yours?”_ He asked, his voice high and cheerful.

Dongmin was staring so hard at the other boy’s face that he almost forgot to answer. He had never, in his fourteen years of life, felt that way. His palms were all sweaty and he could feel apprehension bubbling in his stomach. His throat felt tight and he couldn’t focus. It was as if he had forgotten how to speak.

Jimin cocked his head to the side, waiting for an answer. A dark lock of hair fell on his left eye and Dongmin almost brushed it away. He took a sharp intake of breath and opened his mouth, his voice shaky and hesitant.

“ _I’m Dongmin_ ,” he said as he felt his cheeks heat up under the boy’s stare.

Jimin smiled before nodding, his face lit up with happiness.

“ _How old are you, you look young,”_ he then added as he roamed his eyes around Dongmin’s body.

“ _Fourteen_ ,” he answered curtly, hating more than ever his childish appearance and youthful face.

“ _I’m sixteen, you can call me Hyung!”_

Dongmin fought the surprise off his face. Lycoi usually never referred to one another with respect terms like these. Submission was something to be shown in the behaviour and not in empty words. He had never in his life called someone ‘Hyung’ before and the word seemed too foreign on his tongue for him to like it. Moreover, it made him feel like a child compared to Jimin and for some reason that he still had to figure out, he wanted the boy to see him as an equal.

“ _I’d rather call you Jimin,”_ Dongmin said boldly, feeling his heartbeat picking up.

The other boy’s brows shot up in surprise. He then smiled and chuckled before nodding. Dongmin liked the way he smiled, he liked it quite a lot. His small eyes disappeared into small crescents and his lips curved upwards, making him look like a cat.

“ _What pack are you from?”_ Dongmin then asked, his throat dry from the nervous state he was in.

“ _The Swamp Pack,”_ Jimin answered with another cute smile as he walked closer to Dongmin.

He knew who the Swampy Ones were, he had heard of them from Chaemin. They were a new pack made up of very young wolves that wanted to fight in the war. Dongmin would have almost liked Jimin less for being involved in the war but the proximity with the other boy made him feel light headed. He was so close that Dongmin could smell his cherry scent even better than before and it made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

“ _What pack are you from? I’ve never seen you around before,”_ Jimin then said as he stepped away.

Dongmin didn’t really know what he could answer. Technically, he was still a member of the Shore Pack but he didn’t feel like one any more. Lone Lycoi like himself weren’t much appreciated since they were usually associated with the outlaws of Achroma. 

“ _I’ve only been in Seoul for three years, I used to live in Jeju with the Shore Pack,”_ he finally said, his heart heavy with apprehension.

Jimin nodded, taking in the information.

“ _You don’t have a current pack, then?”_ He asked after only a second.

Dongmin reluctantly hummed in agreement. He didn’t really know how to explain to a boy he had just met that he didn’t want to be a Lycos without sounding completely rude. He had spent three years living among humans and acting like one and he realised that he quite liked his new life. He had a few friends, and even Junhwe that he considered to be the best friend he had ever had so far. Dongmin didn’t feel like living the Lycos life any more.

“ _Would you like to join my pack then?”_

Dongmin felt his heart stop. He couldn’t decide whether he was pleased by the offer or not. He definitely wasn’t going to accept though. The Swamp Pack’s aim was to fight and Dongmin didn’t want that. It did make him happy, though, to be invited to join a pack. It as always a great honour but in that case, it only made Dongmin feel conflicted.

He shook his head and felt his own smile fall when he saw the other boy’s disappointment. Jimin seemed like a nice person and even if Dongmin did want to get to know him more, he knew that he wasn’t made for war.

The two of the had ended up exchanging phone numbers since Jimin had been insisting, not that Dongmin would have refused. He had felt his heart warm up when thinking of talking on a daily basis with the other boy, even if it only was via phones.

  


  


  


2nd March 2012 Seoul.

  


  


  
Dongmin sighed as he walked to his classroom. It was his first year of high school and he knew that he ought to be excited but how could he when he was not in the same class as his best friend.  


In a mere year, Dongmin had seen a lot more Lycoi. It was as if they all had decided to come to Seoul to gather and there were some rumours that Dongmin wasn’t liking at all. Apparently, the Shore Pack had beaten the Ice Pack and the survivors from these fights had fled to Seoul to create a new pack, the Snow Pack. Dongmin was scared.

If the Snow Pack really was a thing, he knew that many Lycoi were probably going to join them and Dongmin would definitely be a target, being a Timber Wolf. He was worried that it might also cause trouble to Chaemin and Junhwe. Even if his best friend didn’t know anything about Lycoi, they were always together and he didn’t want him to be targeted as well because of him.

It would also mean that even if the Ice Pack had indeed be destroyed, the war was not over. Moreover, what could the Shore Pack do against an enemy pack in Seoul? Not much. The only packs that could go against enemies in the area were the Cloud Pack and the Swamp Pack.

Dongmin suddenly fished out his phone, no message. Jimin had not been answering his texts these days and he couldn’t help but be worried for the older boy. The two of them still met on a regular basis and they had gotten quite close. He was often asking Dongmin if he was sure that he didn’t want to join his pack and each time it seemed harder to refuse.

Dongmin hated the war and the fights but he knew that things were about to go out of hand. If he wanted to protect the ones he loved, he would have to join a pack. He could have gone to the Cloud Pack since Chaemin knew them fairly well but Jimin was in the Swamp Pack. Dongmin also wanted to protect him.

If he had been still a bit hesitating at first, Dongmin took his decision the second he had left the school to find Junhwe being pushed down onto the floor by two older boys. It made no doubt to Dongmin that these two were Alphas, based on their smells and postures. He knew that he ought to bow and respect them but he couldn’t care less at that moment.

Dongmin rushed to them and helped Junhwe up before gathering all the domination he had as a mere Pup to glare at them. He knew that he probably wasn’t being very imposing but he couldn’t just stand without doing anything.

The two boys stared at Dongmin, their eyes void of emotions. It seemed as if they wanted to keep going but they knew what it would mean if they shifted in a public place in front of humans. The would be considered outlaws and that fact seemed discouraging enough. It was with a last glare that they both walked away silently.

Dongmin vaguely remembered Junhwe thanking him but he couldn’t really be sure. He had been too lost in his anger and frustration. What could he do when he wasn’t even part of a pack. He was an easy target and so were his friends.

The first thing Dongmin did when he arrived home was to send Jimin a text. It was very short and made up only of the important things: he wanted to join the pack.

  


  


  


  
4th March 2012, Seoul.  


  


  


“ _Are you sure?”_

Dongmin glanced sideways at Jimin. The boy was looking up to him, his dark eyes lit up with a worry that he didn’t like to see on his face. Dongmin nodded and took a deep breath. He knew that meeting the Main Alpha of such a young pack was probably going to be less impressive than when he had met the Shore Pack’s. Yet, he knew that he still to be perfectly submissive if he wanted to be accepted in the pack.

Jimin gave Dongmin’s shoulder a comforting squeeze before opening the door to the apartment. It looked quite empty but there were so many different smells hanging in the air that he couldn’t even count the number of Lycoi living there. Jimin had told him that their pack was still only made of six people and they were thus living all together in a flat.

“ _Oh, Jimin.”_

Both Dongmin and Jimin turned their heads in the direction of the husky voice that had called the older boy’s name. A man was standing in the door frame of what looked like to be the door to the living room. He was quite short and was probably no taller than Jimin. He had an almost too pale skin that made his dark eyes and hair stand out even more. Dongmin glanced at the man’s face and felt his heart stop when they locked eyes. They were sharp and cold, as if the man’s only desire was to rip Dongmin’s throat.

The man then averted his gaze to look at Jimin. Dongmin noticed the way his eyes softened immediately and how his lips slightly curved upwards in a catlike smile. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, Dongmin had also smelled the way Jimin’s smell had spiked up when their eyes had met and didn’t take him too much thinking to understand what was going on.

Meeting the pack in itself had went pretty smoothly. Hoseok and Taehyung had been very welcoming and even if Dongmin knew that he never was going to be friends with the man that had glared at him upon arrival, Yoongi, he felt at ease with the other members. Namjoon and Seokjin, the Main duo were long time friends and were polar opposite. One was childish and nagging like a mum and the other thoughtful and reflected. They had immediately accepted to let him join the pack and had not asked anything particular of him, just regular updates and to come to the meetings.

Dongmin was not a nobody any more. He had a pack to call his own and people that he cared for to protect from harm.

He hadn’t even realised that he had been missing the Lycoi life this much.

  


  


  


  
6th June 2014, Seoul.  


  


  


Dongmin was woken up by the sudden pain. It felt like he couldn’t breathe any more and the mere sound of his heart beating was deafening. He looked around in the darkness and saw the digital numbers on his night stand indicating that it was 3 a.m. 

Dongmin bit back another moan of pain as he suddenly felt an invisible knife ripping his insides. His whole body was trembling against his will and he couldn’t tell whether he was shivering from the cold or burning up.

Dongmin knew what was happening. The Trainers from the Shore Pack had told him what presenting felt like. He had been warned that there would be a lot of pain but a pleasant feeling of accomplishment afterwards.

They said that the earlier the Presentation, the stronger the Lycoi. Dongmin had no idea if that was true, but presenting at 17 made him quite the late bloomer. He had been expecting to present since he had entered high school and even if all the other pack members had eventually presented, he had remained a Pup.

He had felt the frustration bubbling up in his heart when Yoongi had presented as an Alpha and had started to court Jimin. Dongmin was aware that even if he had presented before Yoongi, things would have ended up the same way. Jimin had never seen him that way and Dongmin had not planned on doing anything to change that vision anyway. He was sure that he was going to be a Beta or an Omega anyway. What was that compared to an Alpha?

Even if none of the other Lycoi had made fun of him for not presenting, he had felt pushed away. He had been the only Pup left, along with Haneul, in the Swamp Pack that still had to present. In the past two years, a lot of Lycoi had joined them and even if Dongmin didn’t like all of them, he liked his pack. Haneul was childish and quite annoying, and he had quite a hard time getting along with him but he loved Hoseok’s company. 

They all had been so nice and kind with him that Dongmin felt the need to somehow repay them. They still had to decide who was going to be the Lead Alpha and Omega and Dongmin was praying to be an Omega instead of a Beta. That way, he could become Lead and be a respectable Lycoi that had responsibilities and that people looked up.

Slowly, the pain started to fade away. Dongmin could smell his own scent becoming muskier and stronger, but it seemed as if everything else had become fainter. He couldn’t hear the sounds as well as he used to and even the house’s smells seemed to have disappeared.

Dongmin felt it. He could feel the changed happening and he knew what they meant. Omegas didn’t have such a strong smell and Betas’ noses were sharper than that. His entire body was screaming it to him but Dongmin didn’t want to admit it.

He was weak and cowardly. He had ran away from his pack and he hated fights. He couldn’t be an Alpha.

  


  


When Dongmin entered the flat the next day, he realised with bitterness that he couldn’t even tell from the smells who was present. He could faintly smell Jimin’s cherry smell and his new Alpha status immediately reacted to the Omega scent. Dongmin took a deep breath to calm himself down before entering the living room.

Jimin was sitting on the couch and was already looking in his direction, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

“ _You’ve presented?”_ He asked, his voice heavy with disbelief.

Dongmin nodded before glancing away. Jimin’s stare was too strong for him to keep returning his gaze. He had seen in the other man’s eyes the slight glow that his Alpha pheromones had caused and it had reminded him of the way Jimin used to look at Yoongi. The difference was that he was already looking at the older boy before he had even presented and Dongmin didn’t want Jimin to suddenly see him differently because of his status.

“ _You’re an Alpha,”_ he stated once more, still confused and surprised.

Dongmin couldn’t take it any more. He hated the way Jimin was suddenly looking at him with more interest than ever. He hated how Jimin’s scent had reacted to his own. He took a few step back before leaving the apartment without saying anything else.

He roamed the streets aimlessly, occasionally glancing at the grey and sad sky, and kept going until he stopped in front of his house. He didn’t even want to come back home. His whole life, Dongmin had expected to be anything but an Alpha. He didn’t feel like one.

He sighed deeply before casting his gaze downwards to his worn out sneakers. At least, he could still become Lead. He definitely wasn’t the ideal Lycos for the role, but it seemed like no one else was interested.

Yoongi was brave and strong and Dongmin looked up and admired him. Although they were now both Alphas, they were completely different and he knew that the older by would be a way better Lead for their pack.

He would also be a better mate for Jimin.

Dongmin felt his throat constrict. He closed his eyes to keep the tears from falling and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew that the wetness on his cheeks was from the now pouring rain and although he was getting completely soaked, he felt like the drops were cleansing out his body from all the negative things the day had brought into his life. He was going to become the Lead Alpha and he was going to be the best one the world had ever seen.

  


  


  


  
1st January 2016, Seoul.  


  


  


The heat was finally over and Dongmin felt like he could start to breathe again. It was the second one he had went through and they both had felt terrible. The first one might have been slightly worse, since Jimin and Yoongi had mated.

Dongmin had already given up the day he had met Yoongi, yet seeing the two of them, now happy and mated had still been hard for him.

He had somehow become Lead Alpha along the way, and even if still couldn’t understand the reason why, people seemed to like him. Haneul had also presented as an Alpha but wasn’t wishing to become Lead. Dongmin reckoned he had gotten to where he was because he had actually been the only one interested in the role.

Dongmin was walking along Seoul’s busy streets. He was headed for Junhwe’s house. They were on holidays and he had not been able to spend much time with his best friend recently. He had been busy with the heat and he was also actually looking for an apartment to live on his own. They were about to start college and he wanted to have more freedom, desire to which his adoptive parents had completely agreed.

He stopped in front of Junhwe’s house’s front door and waited for a few seconds. They were no sound coming from the house and he couldn’t smell his best friend’s scentat all. He could however, smell Chaemin’s and a completely foreign one. What surprised him, however, was that the smell was a Lycos’s, most like an Omega’s. It was sweet yet discreet, alike honey.

Dongmin knew that Chaemin often had meetings with wolves from the Cloud Pack but he had never actually came across one. He knew that they were allies with the Shore Pack and had thus the same enemy as his current pack. 

As the Lead Alpha, Dongmin thought it was important to know as many Lycoi as possible, especially if they were from another pack to could become their ally. He knocked once more, taking a deep breath and starting to prepare his speech. He wanted to sound as nice as possible.

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Chaemin. She looked just as austere as ever and even the slight curve of her lips didn’t make her seem any kinder.

“ _Junhwe is over at Yugyeom’s house_ ,” she said curtly.

Dongmin remained silent. He didn’t really know how to explain that he was actually interested in meeting the other Lycos present in the house without overstepping his boundaries. Chaemin had always made it very clear that although she was human, she was the dominant one and that he should always act respectfully when he was with her. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, she spoke up once more.

“ _The Cloud’s Pack Lead Omega is there.”_

Dongmin’s head shot up. He stared at the woman’s cold black eyes and waited with baited breath. Her lips then curved slightly more upward and her gaze softened. It was very rare to see her smile openly like this and Dongmin always found her to be most elegant in times like these.

“ _Would you like to meet him?”_ She then said, the sternness back on her perfect features.

Dongmin nodded fervently. Chaemin walked back inside her house and closed the door behind Dongmin. He immediately walked towards the living room as he tried to calm his heart down. The closer he was, the stronger the smell was. Although it was discreet just like any Omegas, Dongmin could pick up its sweetness. It actually did remind him of an old smell he had not come across in a while.

It was only upon arriving in the living room that he suddenly remembered where the smell was from. The other man was sitting down on one of the chairs, facing him. It only took Dongmin a glance at his hair to realise who he had in front of him. The bright orange hair was still exactly the same, even if Jinhwan’s face had aged up. His features were sharper and his body leaner, but he still was the same boy Dongmin used to know.

When their eyes met, Dongmin saw the surprise in the other man’s dark eyes and he was pretty sure that he looked just as confused. For a few seconds, none of them spoke, they just kept staring at one another in complete silence, holding their breath. And then, Jinhwan rose up slowly from his chair and walked up to Dongmin. He looked up to the younger boy, making Dongmin aware of the huge height difference there now was between the two of them.

Jinhwan then walked impossibly closer and raised his arms to hug Dongmin, bringing their bodies together. Dongmin closed his eyes and basked in the comforting smell of the elder, being suddenly reminded of his home town. The melancholy was strong. He could almost hear the sound of the waves and the smell of salt constantly hanging in the air.

He had been so caught up in his new life that he had not even had the time to realise that he had been missing his old pack. No matter how much he liked his adoptive parents and Junhwe, he still craved for the comforting familiarity that he could only feel with people he had been raised with.

Dongmin didn’t know yet that the happiness he felt wasn’t going to last. 

(8773 words)


	10. Truce

24th December 2016, Seoul.

  


  


  


  


When Junhwe woke up, the first thing he noticed was the emptiness of the room. The window was open and the chill winter wind was ruffling Jinhwan’s empty bed sheets. The sun was already up high in the flawless blue sky and the room was lit up with a cosy orange glow that reminded Junhwe of the elder’s hair.

It was the day of the heat and Jinhwan was staying in a different room. He had heard that the Omegas were to be helped by the Betas to get out of heat faster. Junhwe knew what it implied and he didn’t like it at all. He was perfectly aware of the fact that they weren’t doing it for fun but to save his mother. It was the only reason why he hadn’t opposed to the idea, even if he was appalled. 

It was completely consternating to him. Heat was a period of the year for the couples to mate and become married, in human words. Junhwe knew that it was moment of love and happiness for Lycoi, that it was related to their traditions. They had had to mess up all of that to transform it into some sort of factory because of the war. They needed their Omegas for spying missions and they couldn’t do that while hit by the heat.

Junhwe sighed as he sat up. He looked around the room, his heart oddly hollow from the elder’s absence. The room was empty of his honey smell and it only made Junhwe even more aware of where he was and what he was doing.

Junhwe quickly got up and got dressed as he tried to keep negative thoughts away from his mind. He was hungry and he knew that the cafeteria was going to be most likely empty, even if it was 10 am. It would usually be filled with Lycoi during that time of the day, but considering that almost all of the Betas and the Omegas were occupied, the only Lycoi that would be there would be the Alphas. 

When he pushed open the huge hinged doors, Junhwe realised that he had been even more right than what he had expected. The cafeteria was completely empty. The food was there, however, even if the Lycoi who were in charge of cooking weren’t. Junhwe walked up to the trails and picked up his food before sitting at his favourite corner.

He knew that there were no eyes to be scared of but it hadn’t even occurred to him to sit in the middle of the room. He liked to be away from the attention. 

A few minutes after he had started eating, the doors opened once more. Junhwe glanced over at the new comer warily but immediately relaxed when he recognized Haneul’s dark hair and honey eyes. The other boy noticed him almost at the same time. He quickly looked up to where Junhwe was seated, locking eyes with the latter. 

Even from afar, Junhwe immediately noticed that something was wrong. Haneul looked tired. His eyes didn’t have the same malicious glow and his posture seemed restrained in a way that showed his exhaustion.

Haneul didn’t even look at the trails of food and walked straight up to Junhwe’s table. He sat down without a word, glancing away under Junhwe’s boring stare.

“ _What’s wrong?”_ Junhwe asked a few minutes a complete silence.

Haneul looked up silently to the boy’s eyes. He sighed deeply before resting his head on the table and closing his eyes.

“ _I presented_ _this year_ _in Januray, I’ve never been through a heat before,”_ he mumbled tiredly.

Junhwe could only imagine how hard it was. He had heard that all the Lycoi’s scents were stronger during the heat, even him could pick up a slightly sweeter smell in the air, and it probably was horrible for Haneul. 

“ _What is it exactly to present?”_ Junhwe then asked.

He had already heard the term before from both Jinhwan and Dongmin. He knew that it was related to becoming one kind of Lycoi but he reckoned that getting an actual explanation from a Lycos would always be better than what he had gathered.

Haneul opened his eyes and sat straighter. He glanced up at Junhwe, lost in thoughts for a second.

“ _It’s hard to explain_ ,” he stated before continuing. “ _It usually happens around 15 years old although it can happen later. I presented at 18 but it’s not a common thing. I think I’m the only one who’s ever presented so late.”_

Haneul’s gaze was lost in the distance and his voice was heavy with bitterness. The way he had phrased his explanation and the pain in his voice made Junhwe think that it probably was a bad thing to present late. After a few seconds of silence, Haneul finally spoke again.

“ _They say the earlier the Lycos presents, the stronger it will be.”_

Junhwe looked up to meet Haneul’s dark eyes. He had no idea if that statement was true or not, but he knew that Haneul was the most imposing Lycos, beside Namjoon, that Junhwe had ever seen. He was huge and scary and he definitely didn’t seem weak. Before he could try to cheer him up, however, Haneul resumed his explanation.

“ _After going through minor changes that we call Ephebia, the Lycos will eventually present, which basically means that he will turn into one of the three kinds.”_

Junhwe nodded. He had talked at some point with Jinhwan about the differences between kinds. He knew that the smell was different, the height, the colour… All of those things made one able to tell straight away who was what.

Junhwe took a sip out of his orange juice before glancing out of the nearest window. The snow had completely melted and the days were becoming warmer. It had already been 20 days since his life had changed. He had been attacked, then his mother had been kidnapped. He was now living with half-wolf humans and no matter how positive he tried to be, he wanted his old life back. He had tried to learn things about Lycoi to escape reality, to keep his mind off things. But he knew that he was only lying to himself.

He wanted to see his friends, he wanted to go home. He wanted to run far away from the war. A war that he shouldn’t have been dragged into in the first place. The only reason why Junhwe had not ran away was Dongmin. He had not seen his best friend for quite a long time and they had not talked much the past days but he just couldn’t leave him behind. He craved his old life more than anything else but kind of human being would he become if he left Dongmin behind?

There was also Jinhwan. No matter how much Junhwe tried to deny it, he had somehow ended up being a lot closer to the elder than what he had originally expected. He would never admit it, but that newly created bond was something that made Junhwe extremely happy. He would love things to advance further, but what could they do in an inter-species homosexual relationship, and all of that in the middle of a war.

Junhwe sighed before looking back to the other boy seated in front of him. Haneul was looking out in the distance, his face lit up by the sun rays. His honey eyes seemed almost yellow, like a cat’s, while his jet black hair contrasted strongly against his clear complexion. The elegance of his long lashes brushing gently against his cheekbones gave him an overall youthful look that reminded Junhwe of Jimin. His sharp jawline, however, showed a manliness that Junhwe had never really paid attention to before. Haneul was a very handsome young man. Muscular and tall, very much alike Dongmin, which was quite funny to Junhwe as the two of them couldn’t bear one another.

“ _Is there something on my face?”_

Junhwe jumped on his chair, startled by Haneul’s husky voice. His stare rushed up from the boy’s red lips to his honey eyes and he saw the slight confusion in them. Haneul’s cheeks were pink and Junhwe was pretty sure that his own probably were too. He awkwardly waved it off, laughing in an uneasy manner that more than gave away his embarrassment.

After a few minutes of utter silence, Junhwe was finally finished with his breakfast and got up to put his trail away, followed by Haneul. The two of them then exited the cafeteria and kept walking side by side in the Hospital’s dirty corridors.

Junhwe didn’t really have anything to do. He didn’t feel like going to the hall, nor did he want to walk in the forest. The only place he could go to was his bedroom but it felt too empty without Jinhwan.

“ _What were you planning on doing?”_ Junhwe asked as he came to a stop in the corridor leading to his room.

Haneul stopped as well and turned sideways to look into Junhwe eyes. He took a few seconds before answering.

“ _I don’t really know. I can’t go back to my room since Jiyong is there.”_

Jiyong was Haneul’s room mate. He had met him a few days back and he could remember pretty well the man’s hard glare and harsh words. He could only imagine what he would be like during the heat and Junhwe really couldn’t blame Haneul for being scared of him.

Junhwe started walking ahead again, leaving a confused Haneul behind. He went up to his bedroom door only a few meters away and opened the door before motioning for Haneul to join him inside.

Junhwe still remembered what Jinhwan had told him the last time that he had invited Haneul in their room. He yet had to ask Haneul, but he couldn’t possibly let the boy alone in the corridor because of mere speculations. They were friends and Junhwe wanted to have some company anyway.

Once the two of them were inside, he closed the door and went to sit on his bed. Haneul was standing in the middle of the room, looking around with his nose scrunched up. His eyes were squinted in distaste. 

“ _Jinhwan’s smell is way too strong in here.”_

Without adding anything, Haneul walked up to the window and opened it before taking a deep breath of fresh air. He turned around and sat on the window sill, keeping close to the pure air that was easing his headache.

Junhwe remembered that Haneul had already complained about Jinhwan’s smell the first time he had been in their room. It didn’t make a lot of sense to him. From what he had gathered, Alphas were supposed to like Omegas’ smells. He could understand that maybe it didn’t suit Haneul’s tastes, but he had thought that during the heat any Omega smell could be enough to affect an Alpha.

“ _Shouldn’t you like it?”_ Junhwe asked, a brow raised in confusion.

“ _I_ _’ve always hated Jinhwan’s smell ever since from the first time I met him,”_ Haneul answered placidly.

His friend’s harsh tone and the choice of words made Junhwe reckon that he probably didn’t hate only his smell. He didn’t really know why it seemed as if Haneul despised Jinhwan and Junhwe couldn’t really understand why.

He did remember the first time the two of them had met, he had been there. It had been in their college’s cafeteria, when Dongmin had used dominance over Jimin. Junhwe perfectly recalled the growls these two had exchanged and he was pretty sure that Jinhwan didn’t like Haneul much either. 

Junhwe couldn’t understand why. Haneul was a nice guy, funny and always smiling. He reminded Junhwe of Dongmin and it was probably the reason why he had instantly taken a liking to the other boy when he had first met him. His best friend and Haneul were very much alike, even if they hated each other.

“ _I like your smell better.”_

Junhwe’s head shot up. He stared at Haneul in silence, too lost to understand. He had been thinking on his own and had gotten so far away from the original topic that it took him a while to understand what Haneul meant. When he finally did get that he had just been somehow complimented on his smell, he was overcome with embarrassment. He didn’t know what he was supposed to answer to that kind of thing.

“ _Do you?”_ Junhwe awkwardly laughed.

He had thought that he smelled bad based on the different conversations that he had overheard between Jinhwan and Dongmin. It had somehow pained him to know that Lycoi were attracted based on the smell, and yet Jinhwan had straight out said that he had a weird smell. Junhwe had tried to make himself believe that all humans had a weird smell and that it was normal for Lycoi to dislike his scent.

But Haneul liked it. He knew he ought to say thanks and feel happy since for a Lycos complimenting the smell was just like complimenting the appearance for a human. But he couldn’t.

“ _It kind of smells sweet, like an Omega’s but way stronger,_ _alike an Alpha’s_ ,” Haneul added as he jumped off the window sill and walked up to Junhwe. “ _You don’t smell like a human at all.”_

At this, Junhwe stopped thinking all together. What could that even mean? He looked up to Haneul who was standing right in front of him. He was staring back, his honey eyes clear and calm.

Junhwe was about to start asking tons of questions but was suddenly cut off when the door opened. Taehyung was standing in the door frame, looking between the two of them. His face was completely emotionless, yet his eyes seemed colder than ever.

“ _Junhwe, come with me, training_ ,” he stated, his tone oddly even.

Junhwe sighed deeply. He didn’t want to start his training now, especially not with Taehyung. He knew it was an important thing to learn about Lycoi but he would have enjoyed it better if he had been trained by Hoseok, at least for the first few times.

Junhwe slowly got up from his bed and left the room, imitated by Haneul who closed the door behind the two of them. As he walked up ahead in the corridor, reluctantly following Taehyung towards the exit, he could feel Haneul’s stare on his back. He would have asked Taehyung to wait in order to keep talking with Haneul but he knew better than to mess with him. He knew that Taehyung didn’t like him much. Junhwe was definitely not looking forward his training time with him.

  


  


  


  


Haneul sighed as he sat down in the hall. He had absolutely nothing to do now that Junhwe had been taken away by Taehyung. The two of them had been having an interesting conversation before they had been rudely interrupted.

Haneul was curious as to why Junhwe didn’t smell like the other humans. He didn’t know if Junhwe knew the reason, he didn’t even know if he was aware of the fact that he had a weird scent.

Before Haneul could ponder more, the door to the hall opened. The second the person entered, Haneul immediately knew who it was. The smell was earthy and musky and the only Lycos that smelled so strongly was Dongmin.

Haneul glanced sideways in the direction of the newcomer and had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from sighing when he recognized the tall silhouette and dark locks. He knew that trying to talk with Dongmin, especially during the heat, would only result in the two of them fighting.

It wasn’t like he hated Dongmin. It seemed more like Dongmin hated him. Every time they had tried to have conversations, Dongmin had somehow always ended up getting angry. Haneul knew the different reasons. He and Dongmin were alike, too alike. He was aware of that fact and he was pretty sure that they could have been close friends. But Dongmin saw him as a hindrance to his Lead Alpha status. 

Haneul had no desire to take Dongmin’s role. He wasn’t cut out for such important responsibilities, but it didn’t seem like the other boy had understood that fact. The other reason, that was more recent, was Junhwe. Haneul reckoned that Dongmin didn’t like the way they were becoming close, probably out of jealousy.

Dongmin, as soon as he had entered the hall, glared straight ahead in Haneul’s direction. He quickly walked up to the other boy, his eyes lit up with an angry fire and his fists tightly close.

As soon as he was close enough, Dongmin slammed his hand on the table in front of Haneul, the loud noise reverberating throughout the whole room. 

“ _You marked Junhwe.”_

Haneul felt his blood freeze. Although it was indeed true, he hadn’t really meant to. He had been praying for no one to notice, especially not Dongmin. Haneul was sure that Jinhwan had noticed though, his nose was among the sharpest. But Haneul knew that if no one else had been able to see the subtle difference before the heat, he would be safe.

With that many smells hanging in the hair, Haneul had been certain that Junhwe’s mark was probably going to fade away without anyone being aware of its very existence.

He had not been that lucky.

“ _Explain yourself before I rip your throat.”_

Haneul cast his gaze downwards. He had never felt such a high dominance coming from Dongmin and if he was surprised, he was also scared. Marking a Lycos wasn’t something bad. But Junhwe wasn’t a Lycos, he didn’t know about the mark and Haneul had taken advantage of his poor knowledge on Lycoi traditions. Dongmin had all the rights to be angry.

The silence stretched out impossibly longer. It was heavy and its emptiness made the lack of noise seem almost deafening. Haneul didn’t really know what he could say. He liked Junhwe, and those feelings had led him to mark him. It was something normal for Lycoi interested in someone else to mark them, but he had not told Junhwe. He had used his ignorance and he regretted it.

As soon as he had marked him, the day when he had shifted in his room, Haneul had immediately started to regret his actions. He knew that Junhwe wasn’t interested in him. He was interested in Jinhwan and it had been this jealousy that had made him use the Marking.

“ _I want you to apologize.”_

Haneul hated being ordered around, but Dongmin’s voice was harsh and his eyes cold. It wasn’t the time for Haneul to act cheekily as he usually did when confronted with Dongmin. He submissively lowered his head before speaking up, his voice even and plain.

“ _I’m sorry.”_

Haneul smelt Dongmin’s anger as soon as the words had left his mouth. The scent had suddenly spiked up, making Haneul’s heart beat faster in fear. 

“ _Not to me, idiot, to Junhwe.”_

Haneul’s head shot up. He looked back to Dongmin’s face and locked eyes with the latter. They were colder than he had ever seen them and the pure wrath that was glinting in them forced Haneul’s submissive side to take over. He quickly wiped his head down, trying to make himself as small as possible.

He would almost feel embarrassed and humiliated being dominated by Dongmin if he hadn’t suddenly realised something. In all these years during which Haneul had thought that Dongmin had a lower level of dominance, it had never once occurred to him that he might have been the dominant one.

No matter how hard Haneul was trying to use his own dominance to regain some sort of dignity, he could only quiver in fear under Dongmin’s glare. He had never felt that dominated before, even when he was being scolded by their Main Alpha, Namjoon.

“ _You’re going to stop being so close with Junhwe and you’re going to apologize to him. Is that clear?”_

Haneul nodded stiffly. He couldn’t find the strength to speak up. After a few more seconds of Dongmin staring down at Haneul, the other boy finally walked away, his strong smell trailing behind him.

Only when Dongmin had left the hall did Haneul raise his head. His heart was still beating fast and his shirt was wet with cold-sweat. It took him while to finally move away from his seat, the fear making his body weak and trembling.

He was never going to anger Dongmin ever again.

Haneul sighed deeply as he ran a hand through his black hair. They were also coated with sweat but he didn’t really care. What he cared about was finding Junhwe. He indeed needed to apologize, he wanted to. He had been feeling bad for quite some time and he had though that avoiding him would be the best solution.

He knew it wasn’t. He was going to apologize, and then he was going to start seeing Junhwe as a friend. The feelings he had for the other boy were strong, but he knew better than to make them become mutual. Junhwe was interested in Jinhwan anyway, and Haneul was pretty sure that Jinhwan had been interested in Junhwe for quite some time as well.

Haneul slowly rose from the chair and walked up to the hall’s main door. His mind was too full and his heart too heavy. He didn’t know if he felt like crying of sadness or scream of frustration. He had never felt this miserable before and he wished for it to end. If putting an end to his feelings for Junhwe was all it took for him to start feeling better, then he was willing to try.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe stared dumbly ahead as Taehyung’s question echoed in his mind. He was racking his memory to find the answer but he couldn’t seem to remember it.

Unlike what he had been expecting, Taehyung had started off with a History lesson on the different main Lycoi Packs. Junhwe had thought that Taehyung would shift and attack him to prepare him but it wasn’t even close to what they were doing.

Learning the Lycoi History wasn’t nearly as bad as he had thought. He, in fact, already knew a few things from the different talks he had had these past weeks.

The upside of the lesson was that Taehyung didn’t seem nearly as mean as Junhwe had expected him to be. Even if his voice wasn’t nearly as cheerful as when he was talking to Hoseok or Haneul, his eyes weren’t deathly cold and he hadn’t been aggressive at all.

“ _So you don’t know the name of the main Jeju pack?”_

Taehyung was staring at Junhwe’s face, his gaze even and expectant. Junhwe remembered that it was the pack Dongmin and Jinhwan originally were from but he didn’t seem to be able to recall the name.

He reluctantly shook his head, feeling disappointed with himself.

“ _They are the Shore Pack, also known as the Foamy Ones.”_

Junhwe nodded, repeating the name over and over in his head. He had given up on remembering the different names of the Mains & Leads of each pack but he was at least going to remember his best friend’s pack.

Junhwe looked up to the blue sky. The day was very mild, although they were still in December. He nor Taehyung were wearing many layers and yet he didn’t feel cold. The other boy had wanted to teach outside and Junhwe had agreed. After all, it was a nice day and the fresh air was cleansing his body.

Junhwe sat a bit straighter on his rock and glanced over at the other boy. He was still repeating over and over the few names he remembered, getting ready for the next question. Taehyung, however, didn’t seem like he was going to ask another one anytime soon. He was standing a few meters away, close to the woods’ edge, his gaze lost in the distance. He looked sad and Junhwe didn’t really know what to do.

“ _Do you like Haneul?”_

Junhwe wiped his head so quickly he almost hurt his neck. He stared at Taehyung, his eyes full of confusion and his eyebrows raised up. He had not been expecting that question and he didn’t even know what to answer.

He did like Haneul, he was a nice guy and they got along well. But Junhwe knew that wasn’t the kind of ‘like’ that Taehyung was talking about. The other boy’s posture was rigid and his face scrunched up in expectation, as if Junhwe’s answer was the most important thing at the moment.

It didn’t take long for Junhwe to put the pieces together. Taehyung liked Haneul. He felt stupid for not realising it earlier. Even the very first time they had met, Junhwe had noticed something was off.

Junhwe locked eyes with Taehyung before getting up from the rock he had been sitting on. He walked up to the other boy, stopping only a meter away. He gathered all his genuine honesty before speaking up, his voice strong and assertive.

“ _I don’t like Haneul.”_

Taehyung’s eyes seemed to soften immediately. He breathed in deeply before sighing and closing his eyes. The sun was shining down its rays on both of them, as if warming up the tension that had remained between them ever since their first meeting.

Taehyung opened his eyes and smiled softly, it was sad and small but it was better than a glare. Junhwe found himself smiling back genuinely, feeling his own grin widen when Taehyung’s eyes lit up with a serene glow.

“ _The lesson is finished for today._ ” He then said before walking away, an easy smile gracing his features.

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgement as he sat back on his rock. He felt happy. He knew that he couldn’t suddenly consider Taehyung as his friend but he felt like the other boy didn’t hate him any more.

Junhwe sighed as he thought back on his discussion with Jinwhan. The elder had told him that it was related to the heat and that Taehyung didn’t really resent him for Yoongi’s death. He should have believed him straight away, he would have spared his mind a lot of worries. Even if no one had brought up his involvement in the matter, Junhwe still considered himself to be the one and only person guilty of Yoongi’s demise.

Junhwe stretched out his arms above his head, sighing of contentment. He needed to clear his mind of negative thoughts. Just as he stood up and started to walk towards the hospital, the main door opened.

The now familiar tall silhouette of Haneul was standing in the door frame, glancing around as if looking for something. 

When their eyes met, the other boy’s face immediately lit up with recognition. He ran down the stairs and rushed up to where Junhwe stood motionless. Haneul was panting, his black locks were a mess and his eyes were filled with a mix of emotions that Junhwe couldn’t even begin to distinguish. His brows were furrowed and his face closed. He looked upset and Junhwe had no idea why.

“ _I’m sorry.”_

Junhwe cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. He glanced up and locked eyes with the other boy. He looked sad and the pain marring his features was the rawer than any other. The honey of his eyes was clouded with the worry for someone who is deeply suffering and Junhwe was utterly confused as to what could make Haneul feel that way.

“ _What for?”_ He asked after a moment of silence.

Haneul forced a smile, the corners of his lips curling upwards sadly. He slowly shook his head before glancing away towards the gorgeous skyline. 

“ _I marked you.”_

Junhwe looked back up to Haneul’s eyes. He could feel his heart beating faster as he started to register what the other boy had said. No matter what Jinhwan had been telling him, Junhwe had genuinely believed that Haneul wasn’t guilty. He had trusted him to be a friend.

Haneul was staring at the ground, his head tilted downwards as he if was too ashamed to look up. He probably was, Junhwe realised. From what he had understood, Haneul had literally marked him as his own without even asking him. 

Junhwe didn’t know what he could say. He was speechless. He was disappointed.

“ _Why?”_ Junhwe asked, his voice only a whisper. It seemed as if it was louder than anything else. 

Haneul shook his head, his gaze still stuck on the floor. Junhwe looked up to the sky. Clouds were forming and it seemed as if it was about to rain. There was no noise. Everything around him was quiet, the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own beating heart.

He was waiting, although he didn’t really know what for. He looked back down at Haneul’s face, looking for a flicker of emotion, anything. He wanted Haneul to say it was a joke, but the other boy was standing motionless.

Junhwe felt a drop hitting his cheek. The temperature had suddenly gotten colder and it was starting to rain. With a last glance to Haneul’s face, Junhwe turned around and walked up to the hospital.

He wasn’t really angry. He just felt lied to, and used. Haneul took advantage of his lack of knowledge on Lycoi traditions to assert his feelings over him. Junhwe had never seen him that way, and he didn’t want to.

When the main door closed behind himself, Junhwe let out a deep sigh. He glanced up in front of his, feeling sick to his stomach as he saw the bloodied corridor of the hospital. He felt a sudden tiredness invading his body. He was deceived and he felt like he was going to need a bit of space. Junhwe knew that he was eventually going to forgive Haneul, he wasn’t even that mad to begin with. He rather felt like a pouting child that wanted someone else feel bad on purpose because of a stupid mistake they made. Haneul had seemed to really be sorry and regret his actions. Junhwe didn’t even know why he had just walked away without saying anything. 

He then looked up ahead, staring at the dirty and terrifying corridors of the hospital. From where he stood, he could see the door leading to Taehyun’s room. The metal door was open, and for a second Junhwe almost wanted to turn around and get back outside.

But the rain was now pouring down harshly. Junhwe could see through the glass Haneul’s unmoving figure. He was probably soaked to the bone. Junhwe almost felt bad for him. He looked back to the opened door at the very far end of the corridor and gathered all the courage he had. 

He slowly walked ahead, trying to be as silent as possible. He focused on his surroundings, attempting to hear anything that could alarm him but the building was completely and utterly soundless.

When he was close enough, Junhwe quickly glanced inside the room but it was empty, both of Taehyun’s presence but also any belongings. The room looked like a metal box, cold and . The only furniture was a wooden single bed that was falling apart. It looked clean as if it had not been used in a long time.

The eerie atmosphere of the corridor was too unsettling for Junhwe to keep standing in it any longer. He quickly rushed towards the end, finally breathing normally once he arrived in the corridor leading to his own room. He needed to talk to someone about that. Junhwe knew that Taehyun wasn’t a prisoner and that he was obviously allowed to walk around, but the door left open and the room completely empty did seem weird.

Just as Junhwe stopped in front of his room, ready to open the door, he heard his name being called at the other end of the corridor. Dongmin was rushing towards him, his brow was beaded with sweat and he looked exhausted.

“ _I’ve been looking for you!”_ He said as he stopped in front of Junhwe, catching his breath.

Junhwe studied with worry the dark circles under his best friend’s eyes and the way his chest heaved up and down rapidly. 

“ _Why, what’s wrong?”_ Junhwe asked as he walked up to his best friend a few meters away.

Dongmin’s head shot up, he stared at Junhwe, confused  and lost .  For a second, he looked as if he didn’t know how to answer. 

“ _Well, I just wanted to see you.”_ Dongmin said as he stood straight, still slightly panting.

Junhwe locked eyes with his best friend and saw no lie in the familiar black orbs. He didn’t know why Dongmin looked so alarmed and confused and the only explanation Junhwe could come up with was the heat. Haneul had been acting weirdly  too  throughout the whole day after all.

A s he looked into his best friend eyes, Junhwe was suddenly reminded that he, in fact, had been looking for his best friend for quite some time too. At first, it had only been because he wanted to talk to him about his theory concerning Mino, but then after some time, he had started to really miss Dongmin’s company.

Junhwe felt a smile blossom on his face as he stared at his best friend. He had even missed seeing him. The wild blacks locks, the dark eyes, the constant smile… They were a meter apart but Junhwe could feel a pleasant warmth spreading throughout his whole body from the proximity with Dongmin.

“ _Stop smiling, you’re gross.”_

Junhwe raised his gaze to meet his best friend’s malicious eyes. Dongmin was grinning, the exhaustion temporarily slipping away from his features. Junhwe snorted as he shook his head, feeling his smile widen even more.

Dongmin was definitely the most valuable friend that Junhwe currently had by his sides. He didn’t even know how he could have gone that far without him.

Junhwe glanced back up to his friend’s face and locked eyes with him. He was looking back, his gaze unwavering and calm. They were the same as always and the familiarity in that gaze almost made Junhwe tear up.

He missed the comfort that he had not been able to feel with anyone else except for Dongmin. More than anything, it was the familiarity that he had been craving. He finally felt like he could be himself.

“ _I heard from my room mate that you wanted to see me.”_

Junhwe cocked a brow. He had almost forgotten the day he had went to Dongmin’s room and had ended up meeting Jiwon. He indeed had things to tell his best friend, especially regarding his meeting with Mino that had happened quite some time ago now.

Junhwe wasn’t sure he could. He didn’t believe that Dongmin had hid things from him, even if Taehyun words were still echoing in his mind.

‘ _They’re liars.’_

Haneul might be, but not Dongmin. Junhwe took a deep breath as he tried to gather his thoughts. He wanted answers and he was finally given the chance to get them.

“ _I have a serious talk to have with you.”_ He said as he opened the door to his room and motioned for Dongmin to follow him inside.

Once the two of them were inside the room, the door and the window closed, Junhwe turned around and stared at his best friend wordlessly. Dongmin’s brows were furrowed in puzzlement and he was standing completely still.

“ _Don’t you think that me staying here is weird?”_ Junhwe inquired as he sat down on Jinhwan’s bed.

Dongmin cocked his head to the side as he blinked in surprise. He seemed to think for a second, before answering.

“ _No, not really. Why?”_

Junhwe glanced out of the window. The clouds were starting to part, letting a few shy rays of sun warm up the wet soil. He looked back at his best friend’s unmoving figure and tried to come up with the best explanation before speaking up. 

“ _They targeted my mother because she knew important pieces of information regarding your pack.”_ Junhwe made a short break, waiting for Dongmin to nod before resuming his talk. _“I didn’t know anything before you brought me here, they couldn’t have gotten anything from me.”_

Dongmin’s eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. He glanced down at the ground, his mouth opening and closing as he was suddenly realising where the incoherence stood in all these different actions.

Junhwe knew that something had been wrong all along. He was just a nobody, a human among many others, and yet for a reason that Mino was hiding these Lycoi wanted him. If Junhwe had still been doubting it at some point, he had stopped the day he had been attacked in the hospital. Among all the rooms, the exact same Lycos as the first attack had wanted to enter the one Junhwe had been in and that wolf had looked very keen on getting rid of him.

“ _Mino is hiding something.”_ Junhwe then said. 

He wanted Dongmin to understand every part of his thoughts. He had been thinking about it for quite some time and the only thing that made sense was that Mino was aware of something, that no one else knew about and that he had been keeping it a secret.

Junhwe even reckoned that he knew it from his mother, because after all, his mother had been for some reason linked to the Cloud Pack for quite some time. What he needed to find out was what was being hidden.

“ _I’m definitely going to try to investigate that matter.”_ Dongmin then said as he walked up to the door, his hand on the knob, ready to leave.

Junhwe nodded and watched in silence as his best friend left the room swiftly, closing the door behind him. He now had someone that was going to help him find out the truth. 

He also had Jinhwan on his side. After all, it was the elder that had straight out told him that he also believed that Mino was hiding something.

Junhwe took a deep breath as he dropped onto his side, his head hitting the fluffy white pillow. The sheets had a familiar smell that he instantly associated with the elder. The sweet honey scent was making his stomach churn and the mere realisation that he was laying down on Jinhwan’s bed made his heart beat faster.

Junhwe closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to homey smell, feeling his body warm up with a tenderness comfier than any other.

He was going to find out the truth.

(6467 words)


	11. Sensitivity

25th December 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

  


  


  


  


Namjoon yawned loudly as he stretched out his arms above his head before bringing his cup of coffee to his lips. It was bitter and hot, but he didn’t really care. His mind was too filled with thoughts that kept his attention away from his drink.

The heat should have just ended. His head was clearer and he couldn’t smell any Omega’s scent any more. If the heat was over, it meant that they were about to start the offensive. Namjoon didn’t like to fight but if he had to, he wasn’t going to back down. It wasn’t so much for himself that he was worried, it was for Seokjin.

He knew that the older man was completely capable of taking care of himself but Namjoon couldn’t help it. They had never actually went to war and with Yoongi’s death still heavy in their hearts, they were more aware than ever of what the fights were really going to be like.

Namjoon didn’t want to lose any other pack member, especially not Seokjin. He was the Main Omega and he couldn’t think of anyone who could take on the role if he were to die. The Lead Omega was a young Japanese rescued wolf named Sana and even if she was a nice Leader, she could never become the Main and Namjoon couldn’t even imagine someone else than Seokjin in that role anyway.

They had created the pack together and it had no reason to keep on existing if any of them were to die.

Namjoon sighed as he put his mug down on the cafeteria table. He knew he was just finding excuses. He didn’t want Seokjin to die because he loved him. It was of course also because he was an important member of the pack but it was mainly because of his feelings for the elder.

He hated the mere idea of him getting hurt and he would choose to die a hundred times if it were to save Seokjin from any harm.

He wanted to see him. Because of the heat, the Omegas had been parked in secluded areas and Namjoon had not seen Seokjin in two days. He had heard from Mino that the Omegas were to be sent on a spying mission as soon as the heat was over, which meant that Seokjin was probably going to leave the day after or even in a few hours and he wanted to see him off.

He missed the elder’s warmth and his lavender smell more than anything, although he knew better than to admit it out loud. Namjoon reckoned that a few people knew of his feelings but no one had ever straight out asked. Seokjin had been more than clear regarding that matter anyway. His feelings were to never be spoken of and they would never become mutual.

On rainy days when he was all alone, Namjoon did feel a vague ache, but he had gotten used to the feeling of rejection that he was constantly experiencing.

Namjoon walked up to one of the sink, leaving his cup for the Lycoi on cleaning duty to take care of it. Before trying to find Seokjin, he needed to stop by the nursery to see how Jimin was doing.

Ever since Yoongi’s death, the younger boy had not went back to his own room. Namjoon could understand that. The bond tying the two of them together had been strong and unwavering. He could only imagine how hard it was for Jimin.

He wasn’t even mated to Seokjin but the mere thought of him dying could almost make him tear up. Not being able to smell him any more, not hearing his laugh or see his smile was something that Namjoon knew he couldn’t possibly live without.

He admired Jimin for holding up so well. Even if his eyes were constantly red as if he never stopped crying, he still smiled. Most of the time is was small and weak, but Namjoon knew he was going to get better.

After all, Haneul had been paying him a lot of visits and the younger boy’s hyper mood did seem to have a good impact on Jimin. What Namjoon liked less, however, was Dongmin’s attitude.

The boy couldn’t be any more obvious with his feelings and no matter how positive he tried to be, Namjoon only saw that as a hindrance. Jimin had just lost his mate, he didn’t need another Lycos giving him the puppy eyes.

Namjoon sighed deeply before taking another deep breath as he stood in front of the nursery’s door. He tried to listen through the old wood for any sound but he couldn’t hear anything. After all, Jimin was supposedly the only one allowed in the nursery.

Jimin had been separated from all the other Lycoi so that he could handle his heat on his own. None of them had really known what was the best thing to do when losing your mate at the doors of heat. They had just thought that forcing Jimin with someone just for the sake of the war wasn’t worth the trauma.

Namjoon even had heard of heats finishing way earlier if the Lycos really rejected it with its entire core. With a bit of luck, Jimin was already out of heat as well and he wasn’t feeling that down. 

Namjoon knew he was being delusional. 

When he pushed the door opened, the first thing he noticed was that the smell wasn’t nearly as strong as he had expected it to be. The nursery was completely dark and the only light that helped Namjoon see was coming from under Jimin’s room’s door. 

After taking a long and deep breath to collect his thoughts, Namjoon knocked on the door and waited for Jimin’s muffled voice to allow him to enter.

The light in the room was faint. All the curtains were drawn and a small bedside lamp was the only thing lighting up the room in a warm orange glow. Jimin was sitting on the comfy bed, a book in his lap. He was looking straight ahead in Namjoon’s direction, the purple circles under his reddened eyes darker than ever. When their eyes locked, Jimin forced a weak smile, the corner of his lips slightly shifting upwards.

His skin had a pale glow that looked too white to be healthy and he had never looked that thin before. Namjoon knew that under that baggy white shirt, he could probably count the boy’s ribs from how slender Jimin had become.

Namjoon forced a smile as well, well aware that Jimin probably knew how hollow it was. He entered the room, closing the door behind him and walked up to the bed. He sat down next to Jimin in silence, feeling a shiver run down his whole body when his arm brushed against the younger boy’s deathly cold hand.

“ _How are you?_ ” Namjoon asked quietly, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the room.

He knew that Jimin hated that question. He definitely wasn’t not alright and he wasn’t someone fond of lies, but he didn’t want his friends to worry about him. Namjoon watched as Jimin’s smile fell and his eyes became impossibly darker. 

“ _Better now that the heat is over.”_ He whispered, his voice hoarse as if he had not spoken in a while.

Namjoon stared as Jimin looked down at the book in his lap, breaking the eye contact. His eyes looked wet and Namjoon knew that he shouldn’t push the matter. Jimin was in a fragile state and it felt like he could break down any moment.

“ _Mino wants the Omega to leave soon.”_

At this, Jimin’s head shot up. He locked eyes with Namjoon, his mouth hanging opened from the surprise. He looked panicked.

“ _I’d rather have you stay here.”_ Namjoon quickly added.

Jimin seemed to relax immediately. He weakly nodded in agreement and averted his gaze once more. Namjoon didn’t want Jimin to go. His mate had just been killed and Mino expected Jimin to go fights Yoongi’s murderers as if nothing had happened.

Jimin was still too weak and Namjoon knew that if he went, it would only result in him being killed.

Namjoon raised his gaze up to Jimin’s unmoving figure. The boy’s shoulders were slumped, his shirt hanging on his fail frame and his eyes lost in the distance. It looked as if he was fading away and Namjoon had never felt that helpless before.

With a last forced smile, Namjoon stood up from the bed and walked up to the door. He left the room and closed the door behind him without looking back. He couldn’t keep on watching his own pack members slowly being eaten alive by the war. It needed to end.

Namjoon left the nursery with a sigh, his heart heavy. He needed to find Mino and have a talk with him. They couldn’t possibly force Jimin to go. Namjoon also reckoned that they should send a few Alphas along just in case things went south. If a fight was to occur, Omegas probably wouldn’t be able to take on all of the enemy forces. Namjoon was willing to go, it would also enable him to stay by Seokjin’s sides and make sure that he wasn’t hurt.

Just as he took the last corner before the cafeteria where he expected to find Mino, Namjoon suddenly smelled a familiar lavender scent that immediately made his heart beat faster. In front of the cafeteria’s hinged doors, Seokjin stood motionless. He was looking in Namjoon’s direction, he most likely also had smelled him. His warm chocolate eyes were empty of any emotions as he stared down at Namjoon.

He could feel his heart beating faster from the man’s stare. For a moment, he thought he had seen a flicker of emotion, a split second during which Seokjin’s wall had fallen and revealed a kind glow.

Namjoon knew Seokjin better than anyone else. He knew that Seokjin wasn’t being cold to him to hurt him, but to protect him. He thought that if he was mean to him, Namjoon would stop loving him, but that’s not how love works.

With a small smile, Namjoon walked up to the other man and stopped in front of him as they locked eyes. Seokjin’s face lips were tightly closed and his eyes cold, as always. Namjoon almost felt hurt.

“ _How did the heat go?”_ He asked slowly, feeling his heart beat painfully from his own words.

Seokjin’s emotionless face suddenly shifted to surprise. He looked thrown off for a few seconds as he had not been expecting such a direct question, especially regarding that subject.

“ _Fine.”_ He answered placidly, his voice flat and harsh.

Namjoon nodded in acknowledgement. He still wanted to talk with Seokjin but the other man was already starting to walk away, completely ignoring him. Namjoon turned around and watched in silence Seokjin’s wide shoulders slowly fading away until he turned the corner leading to the main corridor.

Namjoon remained standing in the middle of the corridor for a few minutes. The lavender smell was still hanging in the air and he couldn’t tell if it was the familiar scent that was making his heart ache or if the pain was from Seokjin’s coldness. 

He sighed deeply before slowly walking towards the hinged doors of the cafeteria. Over the years he had spent with Seokjin, Namjoon had gotten used to the way the older man had decided to act with him. They had not been always that way. They used to be close friends before Namjoon messed it up.

Namjoon took a deep breath, pushing the negative thoughts away and pushed the doors open. When he entered the room, Namjoon immediately proceeded to look for Mino but he couldn’t seem to see him anywhere. The cafeteria was quite packed, which changed greatly from the previous day.

Among the crowd of people, the only familiar face he could recognize was Haneul’s. The younger boy’s eyes didn’t have the same glow as always and he seemed exhausted. Namjoon could understand the way he was feeling, it was his first heat after all. It was always very tough the first time.

Namjoon walked up to Haneul’s table and sat down in front of the younger. Haneul faintly looked up and forced a smile before dropping his head on the table. Namjoon didn’t take offense at the lack of submission, he was too worried about the younger boy to point out his lack of polite greetings.

“ _Is something wrong?”_ he asked, staring at the mop of black hair in front of him.

Haneul raised his head up and looked back tiredly at Namjoon.

“ _I had a talk with Dongmin and I can’t help thinking about it.”_ Haneul admitted in a low voice.

Namjoon raised a brow in confusion. It was a very common thing for Dongmin and Haneul to fight and most of the time, Haneul was the one who was the less affected out of the two, his laid back personality allowing him to not care much in general. But this time it seemed to be more serious if it still bothered him.

“ _I marked Junhwe and Dongmin wasn’t happy about it.”_ Haneul added as he averted his gaze, his eyes filled with what seemed to be shame.

Namjoon hummed in thoughts. He had not noticed anything. He had not realised that Haneul had those kind of feelings for Junhwe. He had met the boy only two times and even if the two of them had indeed seemed close, he had not picked up that detail.

Given Haneul’s state, Namjoon reckoned that Dongmin had used his dominance and that he had made it more than clear that Haneul had done something wrong. Namjoon knew he ought to also scold the boy but he looked so worry and exhausted that he didn’t find the heart to add another scolding.

It was his role as the Main Alpha but it seemed that Dongmin had handled that responsibility just fine.

“ _Are you not angry?_ ” Haneul asked, his voice small and his eyes filled with worry.

He looked like a child that regretted a mistake that he had not made on purpose and Namjoon felt a smile blossom on his face despite himself. He, himself, had made that same mistake with Seokjin years ago, he couldn’t blame Haneul.

“ _I’m not angry.”_ Namjoon whispered back with a grin.

Haneul looked surprise, his mouth hanging open as if he didn’t know what to answer. The two of them remained silent for a few seconds. Then, without any warning, Haneul suddenly turned around and looked warily at the cafeteria’s doors, his eyes open wide and brows furrowed.

Namjoon followed the boy’s line of sight and hummed in understanding when his eyes stopped on  what seemed to be Junhwe’s figure entering the room. His peculiar smell hit his nose less than a second later  and if Namjoon had had any doubt in his eyesight, he  immediately knew he could believe the newcomer to be Junhwe. No one else had  such an odd smell.

Junhwe walked into the cafeteria, looking everywhere around him as if he was looking for someone. Once he had walked a bit more inside the room and was closer, he finally seemed to notice them. He glanced in the direction, his eyes stopping for a few seconds on Haneul.

Unlike what Namjoon had been expecting, Junhwe walked up to them. He warily glanced at Haneul, gauging the younger boy’s reaction. He seemed to be stuck in place, staring at the ground as if didn’t dare looking up.

Junhwe stopped only a meter away from their table and stared at Haneul for a few seconds in silence. Namjoon could feel the tension between the two of them, it had been to be expected. At least, unlike Seokjin, Junhwe didn’t seem nearly as angry as the elder had been with Namjoon years ago.

“ _Has anyone seen Jinhwan?”_ He asked slowly, his  eyes still stuck on Haneul’s face.

Namjoon saw the way Haneul winced as if the words had physically hurt  him. He weakly shook his head, remaining silent.

“ _Since the heat is over, he probably went back to his room.”_ Namjoon ended up answering, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgement. “ _I heard they’re supposed to leave soon.”_

Namjoon nodded. He was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was supposed to have a talk with Mino about that. He glanced warily between Junhwe and Haneul, he didn’t feel like leaving the two of them alone.

Thankfully, Junhwe seemed to be more interested in finding Jinhwan than sticking around with them. After bidding them goodbye, he left the cafeteria without any further ado.

Only when he had left the room did Haneul seem to start breathing again. His honey eyes were clouded with negative feelings that Namjoon didn’t like to see on his face. With a last comforting smile and a pat to Haneul’s shoulder, Namjoon left the cafeteria as well. He could have stayed with Haneul to cheer him up but he knew that he wasn’t the best at that. Plus, he needed to have a talk with Mino.

  


  


  


  


Junhwe sighed as he closed the hinged doors behind him. He hadn’t really meant to speak with Haneul so soon. He had just been looking for Jinhwan all day without being able to find him and the only people who could have known were other important Lycoi, and Namjoon was the Main Alpha of his pack.

Junhwe thought back on the way Haneul had seemed to avert his gaze constantly and look everywhere but at Junhwe. It kind of pained him. After all, he did like Haneul, he was the first Lycos friend he had ever made, even the only one.

But Junhwe was willing to give him a bit of space. He didn’t want to push the other boy to stay along his sides if he didn’t feel comfortable doing so. After all, Junhwe had been very rude leaving him all alone under the rain without answering anything to his apologies.

It was with another sigh that Junhwe pushed the door to his bedroom open. As soon as he was inside, he noticed, to his delight, that he wasn’t alone. Jinhwan was sitting on his bed, wearing a casual shirt and some shorts, looking straight at him. Junhwe knew without any doubt that the elder had smelt him coming.

Their eyes locked and for a second Junhwe felt like time had stopped. He had missed Jinhwan even more than what he had thought. He felt his heart beat faster the longer he stared at the other man’s dark eyes. He could see a flicker of emotions in them that made his cheeks redden. 

“ _Hi.”_ Jinhwan said as a smile that illuminated his face with joy blossomed on his lips.

“ _Hi.”_ Junhwe answered back, feeling his own lips stretching out in a smile without him really meaning to.

He walked into the room, closing the door behind him before going to sit down on his bed. The window was open and the mild wind was ruffling Jinhwan’s bright orange hair. Junhwe glanced outside and felt his grin widen when he saw how beautiful the weather was. The sun was shinning, str o nger than ever, basking the woods in a pristine white light that seemed to purify the world of its sins. For a second, Junhwe almost forgot where he was and  what was going to happen tomorrow.

Junhwe then glanced back at the elder. Jinhwan was staring at him, his gaze unwavering and strong. His smile was genuine and prettier than anything in the world. Junhwe noticed that  he was wearing  such a loose shirt that  it revealed a bit of his collarbone. Jinhwan had never looked this enticing before. Junhwe could feel his heart beat picking up from the mere sight.

“ _I’m leaving tomorrow.”_ Jinhwan suddenly said, breaking the artificial peace Junhwe had been trying to believe in.

He weakly nodded,  dropping his gaze to his lap. Thinking of what Jinhwan had just went through with the heat and the fact that he wasn’t even going to have time to rest was making his heart ache. Jinhwan was leaving for the war and Junhwe was scared. He didn’t even know what he was leaving for or what his mission was.

As if Jinhwan had heard his thoughts, he suddenly said:

“ _The Omegas are going on a simple spying mission, you don’t need to worry.”_

Junhwe cocked his head to the side. If only the Omegas were leaving, it meant that at least Dongmin was safe.

“ _You could still get hurt.”_ Junhwe mumbled, feeling his cheek heat up. He felt like a petulant child.

Jinhwan’s grin widened, he shook his head with a small  laugh before speaking up.

“ _The aim is to get information on their den. We’re not Fighters, we’re Spies, if anything happens, we run away.”_

Junhwe knew that. He had already been told how Omegas were hard to track because of their speed and faint smell, yet he couldn’t help worrying. He had a bad feeling about that mission.

Jinhwan suddenly stood up and walked up to Junhwe, making his attention shift from his lap to the older man’s face. Without saying anything, Jinhwan sat down next to Junhwe. They were so close that their knees were almost touching and Junhwe was reminded of the bus drive a few weeks ago.

It seemed so far away now. He could hardly remember what his life used to be like before. Sometimes Junhwe found himself thinking that maybe he never had a life before, that he had always been caught in that war, that he had never known nothing else beside that constant worry and anxiety. 

Other times, he forced himself into believing that he was dreaming, that he was going to wake up in his bedroom in Seoul. He would have to go back to college. Suddenly, his boring classes didn’t seem as horrible anymore.

Junhwe knew that none of what he was trying to keep himself away from reality wasn’t working. He could deny it as much as wanted, it wouldn’t change the fact that people wanted to kill him and that these same people had taken his mother away.

A warm and small hand on his shoulder tore Junhwe away from his thoughts. He glanced sideways at Jinhwan’s worried face. His pretty dark eyes were filled a seriousness that Junhwe wanted to brush away to be replaced by happiness.

“ _What’s wrong?”_

Junhwe hated that question. He felt the lump in his throat growing, preventing him from speaking. He felt like he was about to cry and he didn’t even know why. He had no idea what was wrong. He didn’t know what he could answer  to the elder’s question for too many things were wrong.  He had come to a point where it seemed as if nothing was right any more.

The scar on his arm was wrong. It wasn’t hurting any more but it was tender and of a bright pink that seemed to scream at him each time he looked at it. It was a constant reminder of the fact that he was different from the other humans in a way that made these heathens want his death.

The fact that people were dying was wrong. He had seen someone being killed right in front of his eyes, he had witnessed the horror these beats were capable of. Yoongi might have been the first victim, but he definitely wasn’t going to be the last. No matter how hard Junhwe was trying to keep these thoughts away, he knew what could happen to his mother.

The fact that they had his mother was also wrong. She was a mere human and they were  wild brutes that could murder her in a second. Junhwe was aware of that fact and he knew he ought to be ready for it to happen. He had not hear d of her for weeks and none of them knew if she was in fact even still alive.

Junhwe felt a lone tear fall on his cheek and quickly brushed it away. He glanced sideways at Jinhwan, hoping that the elder had not noticed, but how could he have not. If not from the change of smell that Junhwe knew to happen depending on the emotions, the close proximity of their faces wouldn’t allow him to miss it.

Junhwe locked eyes with Jinhwan, seeing the intense sadness in them. He felt more tears gather at the corner of his eyes and had to close them to prevent the tears from falling.

“ _It’s alright to cry you know.”_ Jinhwan whispered in his ear, his lips so close to his temple that he could almost felt them brush against his skin. The elder’s hair was tickling his neck each time he moved to scoot closer and even such a pleasant feeling didn’t help Junhwe feel any better.

It wasn’t alright to cry. He had cried way too much already. He hated it, it made him feel like a small and helpless child. It wasn’t they way he was supposed to act in the middle of a war. He needed to be strong, for himself but also for  the others.  He didn’t want Jinhwan or Dongmin to worry about him. Everyone had to look out for themselves, he couldn’t possibly keep on depending on his friends.

“ _Junhwe.”_

Junhwe’s head shot up. He looked back at Jinhwan’s wet eyes and saw among the darkness a deep sorrow that he had never seen anywhere before. Junwhe knew that Jinhwan could smell and feel his sadness and it was probably what was affecting the older man that much.

The more he looked into Jinhwan’s eyes, the harder it was to hold back his tears. 

Slowly, Jinhwan raised a hand up to Junhwe’s cheek and brushed away the single tear that had been rolling down. His warm fingers ghosted over his cheekbone for a few seconds before the warmth started to slowly fade away.

His hand was still hanging mid air, as if he didn’t really know where to put it. Jinhwan’s cheeks were tinted with pink and he averted his gaze as he scooted even closer. Then, he lowered his hand to rest it at the back of Junhwe’s neck. The warm feeling of the elder’s fingers over his nape made Junhwe blush as well. 

The two of them remained motionless for a few minutes, basking in the comfortable silence that had settled between them. Junhwe could hear the sound of his own heart beating and it occurred to him that Jinhwan might have been able to hear it. He prayed for it not to be the case.

His eyes were still as wet and even if the pain wasn’t easing away, at least he felt like he wasn’t completely alone. The closeness with the elder was warming up his whole body and he was thankful for it.

He had felt left aside the past days. Everyone had been so busy doing their own things that Junhwe hadn’t really been able to hang out with anybody. It had left too much space for useless, negative and self-destructive thoughts that he was more than tired of. He had simply, more than anything, wanted to spend some time with someone.

He was delighted to finally feel someone else’s warmth next to him. He had been craving some contact for a while.

Junhwe looked down at the shorter boy beside him and felt his heart warm up at the sight. Jinhwan’s eyes were closed, his nose buried in Junhwe’s shoulder. His chest was heaving up and down slowly as he breathed in Junhwe’s smell. The two of them were so close that their hips were touching. Because of the height difference, Jinhwan’s head reached right under Junhwe’s chin, allowing him to smell the elder’s hair shampoo.

Gathering all the courage Junhwe had, he slowly lowered his head to rest it atop Jinhwan’s. The orange hair was smooth and silky, a lot alike Jinhwan’s wolf fur. The realisation brought a small smile to Junhwe lips as he breathed in the familiar honey smell and closed his eyes. He could feel Jinhwan shifting under him to get more comfortable.

“ _I don’t want to go.”_ Jinhwan suddenly whispered, his voice small and weak alike a scared infant’s. It made Junhwe open his eyes once more and glance down at the elder’s face. His eyes were open and he was staring in the distance, his gaze unfocused and lost. He looked as if he was about to cry and it broke Junhwe’s heart.

Jinhwan, from what Junhwe had gathered, was the complete opposite of him. Junhwe knew he was whiny and he always had something to complain about. He had a bad personality and no matter how hard he tried to look for qualities, he couldn’t find any. Junhwe was selfish and cowardly. Jinhwan was selfless and brave.

Not once since he had met him had Jinhwan ever complained. He had always been following orders, being constantly in meetings, having to look out for everybody and Junhwe admired him for being so strong.

It only made sense that he would need to break down at some point.

“ _I’m scared.”_

Junhwe felt his heart ache from how weak and terrified Jinhwan sounded. Without thinking twice, he switched their positions so that he could hug the elder with all the strength he had. He knew that he was probably more hurting than comforting Jinhwan but he felt like they both needed it. After a few seconds, Jinhwan finally relaxed as the surprise slipped away from him. He let his head rest on Junhwe’s chest as he deeply breathed, probably trying to calm himself down.

The close proximity with the elder could have made Junhwe blush if he wasn’t feeling so desperate and broken.

“ _I’m scared too.”_ Junhwe whispered after a while.

“ _Why?”_ Jinhwan inquired as he slightly moved away to stare up at Junhwe’s face.

There were many things Junhwe was scared of, he didn’t even where to start. 

“ _I’m scared that people might die again.” - Because of me,_ he thought. 

He knew that Jinhwan didn’t want him to blame himself but how could he not? He had caused someone’s death and it was still heavy in his heart. Junhwe couldn’t help but think that other people he knew and cared for could become victims of this war. It could be his mother, might as well be Dongmin, or even Jinhwan. For the first time in his life, he was even scared for himself too. He didn’t want to die.

“ _Everyone is going to be safe.”_ Jinhwan whispered. His voice was trembling and small, as if he, himself, didn’t believe in what he was saying. 

Junhwe knew, deep down, that it was a lie. He also knew that Jinhwan was aware of his statement being wrong, but they both needed to keep lying to themselves just a bit longer. Reality was too cruel and violent to be looked at directly. Junhwe wanted to believe that everyone was going to come back safe from that mission, he really wanted to, but he had a bad feeling that kept bothering him. It was as if he knew that something terrible was about to happen.

Junhwe sighed as he pushed these thoughts away. He was going to believe in Jinhwan’s words, he wanted to.

Then, Jinhwan slowly backed away, bringing Junhwe’s attention back to him. Even if they weren’t hugging any more, their bodies were still close and as the elder raised his head to look up at Junhwe, their lips accidentally brushed lightly against one another. The pressure had been too faint and lasted less than a second but it had been enough for Junhwe to feel it.

His cheeks immediately burned up and he swiftly backed away awkwardly. He looked down at Jinhwan’s red face and wondered if the elder had also felt it based on his lack of reaction. He looked stunned. His mouth was hanging open and Junhwe couldn’t help but stare down at his red lips.

He breathed in deeply as he tried to calm his hammering heart down. Then, Jinhwan carefully raised his head to look back at Junhwe. The moment their eyes locked, Junhwe gave up on easing his heart beat. The elder’s eyes were wide open and the usual black darkness seemed to be ignited with a strong fire that made them glint like obsidian. Junhwe could see that he was confused and unsure but there was no doubt left that Jinhwan had definitely felt it too.

Junhwe averted his gaze, the tension too strong for him to keep staring. He felt embarrassed and uneasy. He had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Jinhwan was still staring at him and it made Junhwe want to run away.

It had been almost a month that he had met Jinhwan and he had had time to come to a term with his feelings. A part of himself wanted things to advance further but his pragmatic side was shouting for him to run away.

From their recent interactions, Junhwe doubted that Jinhwan had no interest at him at all. But was it worth the risk? Those things were too complicated for Junhwe and the more he thought about it, the more scared he was. He liked things to be simple and clear, he hated the way he was feeling. 

Junhwe didn’t know what love was, but it seemed as if rather than a fabulous feeling it was more of a confusing thing. Junhwe didn’t want to fall in love.

Junhwe was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts as Jinhwan’s hand brushed against his nape, bringing their faces closer. Junhwe was so stunned that he forgot to draw back and before he could even react, their lips were touching once more.

It was only a slight and chaste pressure but it ignited Junhwe’s entire body with a fire that he had never felt before. It was so short and transient as Jinhwan had quickly drawn back that Junhwe didn’t have time to bask in the warmth and the sweetness of the kiss.

Junhwe quickly looked down at the elders’ face to see that Jinhwan’s brows were furrowed, making him look more adorable than confused. His cheeks were pink and his lips redder than ever before. Gently, he raised his head to look at Junhwe, the two of them staring at one another in complete silence. It was heavy and the tension in the air was unsettling Junhwe.

If he had wanted to run away before, Junhwe was now wishing that he could simply crawl under the soil to hide from the embarrassment that he was starting to be overcome with. 

Junhwe averted his gaze and looked down to his lap. Jinhwan was so close that he could see his milky legs brushing against his own thighs, making his stomach churn uncomfortably.

Jinhwan’s body was warm against his and he wished that this warmth would never disappear. He couldn’t really tell if he felt happy, confused or scared. Maybe a mix of the three. He just knew that he was scared to end up being all alone and that Jinhwan’s weight against his chest was the only thing that seemed real in that moment.

Junhwe didn’t really know why but he felt like crying. Everything seemed too much and not enough at the same time. He wanted to crash his lips back on the elder’s but he also wanted to cradle in his arms and break down.

There were too many things happening at the same time in his brain. Junhwe wished the war ceased so that he could go back to his old life, but he also wished that he could just give up on all the responsibilities that made him a human being and just stay close to Jinhwan for the rest of his life.

Maybe love was about being lost and confused.

(6027 words)


	12. Downfall (filler)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about the Omegas' mission and what happened. Graphic violence warning.  
> It actually was supposed to be a filler chapter that would have been Chapter 12.5 but AO3 doesn't like having dots in its chapters.  
> Since it's kind of a side story, it's much shorter, soz :3

26th December 2016, Seoul.

Seokjin raised his muzzle up towards the dark sky, smelling his surroundings. The wind was ruffling his white hairs so strongly that he almost felt cold. But he was too worried to pay attention to such details.

The run to Seoul had passed by a lot faster than expected but the den was supposedly in Incheon, they were currently on the other side of Seoul’s suburbs, hiding in a small forest. They needed a break. The real mission was about to begin and everyone needed to catch their breath for a second.

Seokjin gave a last glance to the other Lycoi, making sure that everyone was there, before walking up ahead on his own. He had picked up a vaguely foreign smell that had attracted his attention. It smelt like an Alpha but he couldn’t tell if it was an enemy’s or an ally’s. Seokjin would have scoffed if he was in human form, it made no sense to him to bring Alphas from the Cloud Pack. There were a few that he had never even met before and whose smells were completely foreign to him. 

In both cases, Seokjin needed to find out where the smell was coming from. It could either be one of their Alphas that had gotten lost and needed help. Even if it wasn’t, it needed to be investigated.

Before he could get any closer, Seokjin heard the deafening cry of a wolf, coming from the place they were all hiding at. It was a cry of pain and fear. Seokjin turned around and ran with all the strength he had, feeling his heart beating faster from the panic.

When he arrived at their place, he found himself stuck in place for a few seconds from the utter terror that took over his body. There were dead bodies of wolves everywhere. Some were from his pack, some from the Cloud Pack, and some others were foreign. The smell of blood was strong in the air.

Seokjin quickly looked around him, trying to find any living Lycos that could tell him of what was happening. In the distance, Seokjin saw an immaculate white wolf, just like himself, running away from the massacre.

Without thinking twice, Seokjin ran after it, leaving behind his friends’ corpses. He had had the time to count the bodies and he knew that most of the other Lycoi had managed to run away. He could take care of his dead pack members later, for now he needed to avenge them.

After a few minutes of running, the two wolves came to a stop in a small meadow. The sky was still dark and filled with clouds, it looked as if it was about to rain.

Seokjin was standing a few meters away from the other white wolf and he was close enough to realise who was in front of him. The vaguely foreign smell that he had smelt in the woods was hers. She was an Alpha, as Seokjin had been able to tell from the musky scent, but she wasn’t just any Alpha. The white wolf was huge, bigger than any other Seokjin had ever met, bigger even than Namjoon. She was muscular, strong and imposing and everything in the way she held herself screamed dominance. She was a Main Alpha. The small cut under her right eye left no doubt of which pack she was from. Seokjin had never thought he’d see Victoria ever again.

Seokjin and Victoria used to be from the same pack, the Ice Pack. It was a very old and wealthy pack made of Arctic Wolves exclusively. As soon as the war with the Shore Pack and the Cloud pack had started, Seokjin had run away. He didn’t believe in what the other members were saying. He was young, and still a pup, but he believed that Alphas were not any better than Omegas, he believed that Arctic Wolves were not any better than Timber Wolves.

He had left the pack and took refuge in Seoul where he had met Namjoon. They had started a pack together, a pack that was going to fight against the Iced Ones, even against the Snowy Ones.

Seokjin knew that this new pack was led by Victoria, and even if they were childhood friends, Seokjin was going to rip for killing his friends. He knew that from her point of view, he was the traitor. He had left his family in the Ice Pack to die and he had refused to join the Snow Pack, made of the few survivors.

But Seokjin had decided to fight for what he believed was right.

As he was about to leap forward to attack Victoria, another person ran into the meadow. The sky was so dark and let so little light shine down the Earth that Seokjin couldn’t really tell who it was, but he knew it was a Lycos in human form. His musky but discreet scent was familiar, but not enough for Seokjin to know who the stranger was.

Once he stood up next to Victoria, running a hand through her hairs with a familiar puzzling smile and greasy blond hair, Seokjin immediately recognized him.

It only took him a second to realise that Taehyun had betrayed them, that he had warned the Snow Pack that they were coming. Seokjin felt the anger welling up inside his core. He would have ripped the boy to shreds if Victoria’s imposing stature wasn’t protecting him from harm.

He knew that rushing towards them wasn’t the best move. He hated to admit it, but as an Omega, fights weren’t his strongest asset. He needed help.

“ _Hi there, Seokjin, right? Let me introduce you to Victoria, not that you two need it, eh.”_ Taehyun said with a hoarse laugh _. “_ _I’m sorry for messing up your mission, but I couldn’t let you guys find out where the den is.”_

_S_ eokjin almost laughed. Taehyun was completely insane, he had gathered that from their very first meeting. Mino had told him to ignore him, but Seokjin knew he shouldn’t have. Why would the Snow Pack leave one of their prisoner out in the wild? He should have killed Taehyun straight away.

“ _I kind of helped you though, because even if you had gotten to the den, you wouldn’t have been able to carry out the mission.”_ Taehyun went on. He walked up to Seokjin, Victoria close to his sides.

“ _You’ll tell Junhwe I’m sorry for his loss, but she tried to get away and we didn’t really need her anyway.”_

It took all Seokjin had for him not to leap forward and erase Taehyun’s smirk with his claws. At least, the good thing with Taehyun’s  brainless  monologue was that now, Seokjin knew that mission was officially a fail. He could warn the others, he could tell them to run away. 

Seokjin quickly glanced at Victoria, she was ready to attack him if he did anything she didn’t like. But she was still far enough. He had the time.

Seokjin breathed in deeply before tilting his head back and howling as loud as he could. It would take only one howl at the right pitch for him to tell all the others that Koo Chaemin was dead and that the mission was over.

If he ever had the chance, he should thank Jinwoo for being so smart and setting codes beforehand to communicate accurately.

As soon as the sound left his maw, Victoria leapt forward and pushed him to the ground strongly, knocking the air out of his lungs. It hadn’t lasted long, but it was enough. Seokjin looked up cheekily at Victoria, barking happily a few times. She could kill him, but at least he had saved the others.

Victoria growled and snarled, visibly unhappy with Seokjin’s lack or submission. She shifted so that she could hold Seokjin down with more force, preventing him from moving at all. Slowly, she crept closer to his throat before baring her teeth, ready to tear at the skin.

“ _We’ll let you_ _go_ _, but under one condition.”_ Taehyun then said as he sat down next to the two wolves. _“You bring Junhwe to us, and you live.”_

Seokjin wiped his head around to look up at Taehyun. He had had a talk the day before with Dongmin. He had told him that Junhwe was being targeted, that he should be protected. Seokjin had simply shrugged it off. Why would they want Junhwe? Seokjin had simply seen that as a Lycos being too worried about his defenceless human best friend. He had been wrong, he should have listened to Dongmin.

Taehyun had probably noticed his confusion, because less than a second later, he resumed his explanation.

“ _You see, we already got rid of the parents and it seems to be such a shame to let Junhwe live. After what Donghyun made us go through, we should at least kill his entire family, don’t you think?”_

If Seokjin was confused for the first few seconds, it didn’t take him long to put all the pieces together. The only Donghyun he had ever heard of was Koo Donghyun, the very first Cloud Pack Main Alpha that had died during the first war against the Iced Ones. Lycoi were still telling the tale of how strong he was. He had died for justice and he had been the one the one to thank for the Ice Pack’s defeat.

Everything suddenly made sense. Koo Chaemin knew of Lycoi’s existence and was close to the Cloud Pack because she used to be married to the Main Alpha. She had been killed because of that relationship, because the Snow Pack’s only aim is to avenge their family.

It seemed so obvious now that Seokjin thought about it. He had just not thought of that possibility. He didn’t even know it was possible for a human and a Lycos to procreate. But Junhwe was the living proof of it. Even his smell had been a piece of evidence.

Seokjin felt like a fool. If only he had been able to make the link earlier, none of this would have happened. He needed to go back to the den, he needed to tell everyone the truth. But Seokjin knew that if he tried to run away, Victoria would rip his throat before he reached the Hospital. The only option he had was to agree to their offer and act as if he was going to help them.

“ _You know, none of this would have happened if Mino hadn’t lied.”_ Taehyun then said, his voice flat.

Seokjin’s head shot back to Taehyun’s lifeless eyes. Of course Mino would have known all along. He had been one of the first Lycos, along Donghyun, to be part of the Cloud Pack, they had basically created it together.

Seokjin let out a snarl of frustration. If only Mino had told everyone the real aim of the Snow Pack. They would have gathered all their strength, asked for all the Lycoi around to help, even the Shore Pack would have helped. They would have gone straight to the den, killed every Lycoi, even if that meant getting in trouble with the Lycoi Justice, and Chaemin would have been saved.

But now it was too late. All they could do was protect Junhwe from harm.

Seokjin looked back at Victoria, still unmoving on top of him. Her maw was so close to his throat that he could feel her breath on his hairs. He couldn’t get away.

Seokjin was still in his thought, trying to choose what the best next move could be, when the weight restricting his body was suddenly thrown away. Seokjin swiftly jumped back on his legs and looked around to find who his saviour was. 

In front of him was the familiar shape of Namjoon, his grey shabby fur standing up on his back. He was motionless, between Victoria and himself, protecting him. Taehyun, in the meantime, had ran back to Victoria’s sides and was now hiding behind her. The blow inflicted by Namjoon hadn’t done much damage, Victoria wasn’t even bleeding.

Seokjin ran to Namjoon’s sides and gave his muzzle a quick of gratefulness. Together, they were stronger and they had a chance to beat Victoria.

Victoria didn’t seem to feel threatened, however, as she immediately leaped towards the two of them. Namjoon shot ahead, ready to take on their enemy. But Victoria took a swift turn, leaving Namjoon behind her as she rushed past him and leaped towards Seokjin.

He had not been expecting to be targeted and his reaction was too delayed, before he could try to escape her, Victoria had clawed at his hinder leg, ripping a good amount of skin away.

The pain was so intense that Seokjin stumbled forward and fell limply to his side. He quickly raised his head to look at his bleeding paw and noticed, not without feeling immensely sick to his stomach, that it had almost been torn away. Even if he managed to get out of here, he probably wasn’t ever going to be able to use that leg again.

A deafening cry of pain quickly shifted Seokjin’s attention from his paw to Namjoon. The grey wolf was motionless on the muddy ground, blood pouring from his throat. Seokjin felt the lump in throat grow from the panic and the disgust. Ugly dark blood was staining both Victoria’s and Namjoon’s fur, not leaving the ground untouched. It seemed as if blood was everywhere Seokjin looked. 

He tried to get up, whining from the pain when his hinder leg touched the ground. He had not made even a step that Victoria rushed towards him and pushed him violently to the ground. His whole body was in pain, it seemed as if he couldn’t even feel it any more. He couldn’t move.

“ _You’re going to bleed to death and join your lovely Main Alpha in the after life, isn’t that cute?”_ Taehyun said as he crouched next to him and ran a hand through Seokjin’s silky white hairs.

Seokjin would have almost heaved. He managed to let out a snarl, warning Taehyun to move his hand away. He knew he probably couldn’t even raised his head high enough to reach the boy but he couldn’t simply let  his filthy hands touch  him.

Taehyun swiftly got up, and Seokjin wanted to believe it was because he had scared him away, and proceeded to walk towards the forest, Victoria behind him.

Seokjin could feel the life slowly leaving him. His leg had been severely ripped and the blood was pouring out at an alarming rate. Even if he managed to stand up, which was very unlikely, he probably would lose all of his blood before reaching the den.

Gathering all the strength he had, Seokjin crawled towards Namjoon, using his claws to drag his entire body. He could feel a few sharp rocks digging in his stomach and the bloody mug staining his hairs but he couldn’t care less. The pain was so intense in his entire body that he couldn’t even feel it any more.

After a few minutes of painful crawling, Seokjin was finally lying next to Namjoon. The other wolf was completely still, the blood still pouring out of the huge gash. The skin was torn and Seokjin knew that if Namjoon was still alive, he wouldn’t be for much longer.

Slowly, the anger and the fury Seokjin had been feeling faded away to be replaced by sadness and sorrow. He gave a tentative to the grey wolf’s muzzle, expecting any kind of reaction. It never came.

Seokjin didn’t even know he could cry in his wolf form, but it was apparently the case. His tears were mingling with Namjoon’s blood as it began to stain his own white fur. Seokjin gave Namjoon’s head a gentle push, as if to wake him up.

Seokjin had never been scared of death. Being the Main Omega of a pack actively participating in a war meant that he could die any time. He thought he had been ready, but as he began to be light headed with the blood loss, as his vision started to blur, he realised that maybe he hadn’t been ready enough.

Seokjin whined as he faintly bit Namjoon’s ear, a last attempt at waking him, but the grey wolf’s eyelids remained tightly shut.

He knew that Namjoon’s only reason to take a part in that war was to keep him safe. Namjoon wasn’t a fighter, he wasn’t a killer. He never was made for war but he had helped Seokjin because he wanted to protect him.

Another tear rolled down his muzzle as Seokjin fe l l to his side. He couldn’t hold himself in a sitting position any more.

As he breathed in deeply and felt the coldness of death holding him down, Seokjin heard a vague rustling of leaves in the distance. He opened his eyes faintly,  noticing  bitterly  how that mere action  tired him out.

Above him, Jinhwan was standing in his wolf form, his brown eyes  were wet with tears and darkened by the panic. He lay down next to Seokjin before  carefuly trying to crawl under the other wolf. Jinhwan wanted to carry Seokjin back to the den, but he knew that he never was going to be able to.

Seokjin wasn’t especially big for a Lycos, but Jinhwan was just too tiny to carry anyone. Seokjin knew he wouldn’t have lasted throughout the journey anyway.

Gathering all he had left, Seokjin rolled on his back and shifted back to his human form. He would have feel embarrassed of his ness if he hadn’t been about to die. There were more important things than that in that moment. 

The mud was sticking to his back, he was feeling deathly cold and the pain seemed to have even more increased with the shifting. He felt even more weak and frail than before. Opening his mouth seemed to take up all the strength he had left. There was blood in his throat and it was painful to even produce a cough.

Seokjin shut his eyes tightly as he tried to overcome the pain in his last moments.

“ _Jinhwan.”_ He whispered, his voice so low that he feared the orange wolf wouldn’t be able to hear him.

But Jinhwan most certainly did. He quickly pressed his  fluffly ear right next to Seokjin’s mouth, determined to hear everything the man had to say.

Seokjin was very glad Jinhwan  had found him. Jinhwan was smart and sharp. They both knew Seokjin wouldn’t make it, they both knew that even if it was painful, it was better to go over that pain and share important informations.

He thought, with a bitter smile, that if Namjoon had ever found him like this, the oh-so-collected man would have completely freaked out, started crying and hugged Seokjin to his chest without being able to rationalize the situation.

But Namjoon was gone now.

“ _Taehyun is the traitor.”_ Seokjin whispered.

He could feel all strength leaving his body. Even moving his lips felt like too much.  Jinhwan shifted a bit, trying to lie on top of Seokjin without hurting him to bring him a bit of warmth. Seokjin felt his lips curl up in a  small smile.

“ _You need to go back to the den now. Junhwe is their target.”_ He mumbled tiredly.

As soon as the words were spoken, Jinhwan shot up and looked down at Seokjin. His eyes were wide open from the surprise and the panic.

Seokjin knew of Jinhwan feelings, he had smelt them, he had known that talking about Junhwe would be the best way to get Jinhwan to run back to the den as fast as possible.

Seokjin  has figured that Jinhwan was smart enough to already know that Junhwe was targeted, but actually hearing it from someone who had just been told the truth by the traitor was  the last piece of evidence he needed

Jinhwan leaped forward and stopped a few meters away from Seokjin, he glanced back the two motionless wolf before howling.

It was a long, deep and sorrowful howl. It was a howl of mourning.

(3374 words)


	13. Full Disclosure

26th December 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

Junhwe sighed as he put his glass filled with orange juice back onto the cafeteria table. Unlike usual, it was quite empty although the room was often the most packed at noon. The Omegas had left the day before in the afternoon, right after Junhwe had bid goodbye to Jinhwan.

Junhwe felt his cheeks slightly heat up from the memory. The two of them had still been sitting on the bed, close and staring into each other’s eyes when a Lycos had knocked on the bedroom door, warning Jinhwan that he had to leave.

Junhwe had hated the way Jinhwan’s eyes had become instantly dark from the fear and the sadness. He had left without saying anything, the feelings hidden in his eyes speaking for himself.

Junhwe had learnt, a few minutes after the elder had left, that all the Omegas and some Alphas were gone. From what Junhwe had heard, Namjoon and Mino had had a talk that had changed a few things. 

The Lycoi had left earlier because the run to Seoul was quite long and they would probably need to take breaks in between. The reason why Alphas had been sent as well had not been mentioned but Junhwe reckoned that it was simply to protect the Omegas in case something went wrong.

It didn’t make a lot of sense to Junhwe. Alphas had a strong smell, from what he had heard. Having Alphas along on a spying mission seemed illogical. Plus, why would things go so wrong that Alphas would be needed? Just as Jinhwan had told him, Omegas were difficult to track and they could just run away. Bringing Alphas meant they were expecting fights.

Junhwe got up from his chair, leaving his glass in one of the sinks on his way out of the cafeteria. The weather had gotten slightly colder but it was still warm enough to go take a walk.

He reckoned that he probably would get in trouble for going out on his own without warning anyone but Junhwe didn’t want people knowing where he was going. He was headed to where Jinhwan had brought him the other night and Junhwe didn’t want the other Lycoi being aware of the existence of that place. It felt like their secret haven.

As he pushed the hospital’s main doors open, Junhwe was welcomed by the strong wind. The sky was of a greyish white and it looked as if it was about to rain. Junhwe looked down in front of him and was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone outside of the building. 

Taehyung was sitting on a nearby rock, the one Junhwe usually sat on, and was looking up, his gaze lost among the clouds. He had that melancholic look that Junhwe often saw gracing the man’s features, making him look sad and gloomy.

The two of them had not talked much since their last training session and even if the tension seemed to have lessened, Junhwe still didn’t feel comfortable being around the other man alone. He was about to turn around and go back inside the building when Taehyung suddenly stood up and walked up to where Junhwe was.

He stopped right in front of him and stared in silence. His honey eyes didn’t have the same usual hate firing up, they were of an utter calmness that reminded Junhwe of Haneul.

“ _Do you have a minute?”_ Taehyung asked in a quiet voice.

Junhwe didn’t really have anything to do and even if he wasn’t close with Taehyung, he felt like they still had a few things to talk about and so he nodded before going down the stairs along the other man. They both sat down on the rock in silence.

“ _I’m sorry.”_ Taehyung finally said after a while.

Junhwe glanced sideways. Taehyung was staring down at the ground, his shoulders tensed and his brows furrowed.

“ _I acted like an idiot.”_ He added with a small smile.

Junhwe was surprised. He had not expected Taehyung to apologize. From what he had understood, it wasn’t even his fault anyway. His closeness with Haneul had been the problem and Taehyung’s actions had been more dictated by the pheromones than hi s own feelings and personality . Junhwe wasn’t blaming Taehyung for it.

“ _It was because of the heat and stuff.”_ Junhwe said, waving off the apology. He could understand  how Taehyung must have been feeling. The other man nodded, his cheeks slightly tainted with pink. 

“ _You really don’t like Haneul that way, right?_ ” Taehyung inquired as he averted his gaze.

Junhwe shook his head with a smile. Taehyung looked embarrassed and it almost made Junhwe laugh from the awkwardness. Based on the talk he had had a few days ago with Haneul, Junhwe was pretty sure that the two of them weren’t going to be close anytime soon  anyway .

“ _You should go for it.”_ Junhwe then said as he stood up from the rock.

Taehyung looked up, his cocked to the side in puzzlement. He looked more than confused, before his eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. He then glanced down, averting his gaze once more. He seemed to think for a few seconds before looking back up to lock eyes with Junhwe. He looked pained and Junhwe didn’t know how to react.

“ _I’m a Beta, Haneul is never going to be interested in me.”_ He whispered as he looked up to the dark grey menacing sky.

Junhwe rose a brow in confusion. He couldn’t see what the link between love and the different kinds was. After all, Junhwe wasn’t even a Lycos to begin with.

“ _Would he like you better if you were an Omega?”_ Junhwe asked, trying to clarify things for himself.

“ _Yeah, he would at least be able to mate with me.”_ Taehyung answered without missing a beat. It seemed as if the words were hurting him.

Junhwe hummed in understanding. When he had talked about the kinds a few weeks ago with Jinhwan, the elder had explained these things to him. Only  couples made of an  Omega and  an  Alpha were able to mate, which is why the Betas had been used during the heat, there was no risk of accidental mating or pregnancy, in certain cases. Beta couldn’t mate, couldn’t bare children and couldn’t create life either.  Junhwe thought it was the most unfair thing he had ever heard of.

Junhwe felt sorry for all of them, especially Taehyung. Now that the heat was over, Junhwe could see how much of a kind person the other man was. He was convicted to spend his life looking for a partner without ever being able to mate with him.

But Junhwe could understand Omegas and Alphas’ reluctance with Betas. From what he had heard, mating was the purpose of a Lycos. Finding the one and staying with that person for the rest of your life seemed like an amazing thing.

But Taehyung would never share that feeling with a mate.

“ _You know, I don’t think Haneul is the kind of person to care. I mean, I’m human.”_ Junhwe then said, trying to be as clear as possible to accurately explain the way he saw things as an outsider. 

Taehyung looked up at Junhwe’s words. He nodded, a small smile stretching his lips gracefully.  _“You should try with Jinhwan too.”_ He added.

Junhwe felt his cheeks reddening. He didn’t know how everyone seemed to be aware of his feelings. He understood that a Lycos nose was very helpful when trying to decipher people’s emotions but it still surprised Junhwe, especially since the two of them had never been close in front of others.

“ _I don’t even know if he is interested in men.”_ Junhwe whispered sheepishly. He felt awkward talking about his feelings, especially with Taehyung since the two of them weren’t that close.

Against his expectations, Taehyung burst out laughing. Junhwe glanced sideways, feeling more embarrassed than ever. He didn’t even know what part of his sentence was that hilarious.

“ _There’s no such thing as being gay for us.”_ Taehyung said between two breaths, still holding onto his ribs.

Junhwe stood motionless as he processed the information. He had never talked about ual orientation with a Lycos yet and he thus had no idea how it worked for them. He had just figured that it would be the same. He had been wrong.

“ _Attraction is based on appearance, yes, but mostly the smell too. No one cares about the partner’s .”_

Junhwe was at loss for words. He, himself, didn’t care much either. He had never considered himself being gay or straight, even biual, but he knew that it was mostly a big deal for others. He had never even told Dongmin that he had had been both with girls and boys because he had been scared of being judged. Dongmin was his best friend, and yet the mentality that Junhwe had been lulled in for years had prevented him for entirely trusting Dongmin. He had been scared, because it wasn’t considered as normal, because people are not allowed to be who they are because of society rules that no one has ever agreed to but need to follow.

“ _Sometimes it can become a problem as only male Alphas mated to female Omegas can have children.”_ Taehyung said before resuming his explanation. _“But it’s mostly fine since the litters are usually of six pups.”_

It took all Junhwe had to not imagine a female Omega pregnant with pups and giving birth to wolves. Taehyung probably saw his horror and confusion as he quickly added:

“ _Birthing and the whole length of pregnancy happen in wolf form.”_

_The more you know,_ Junhwe thought. He nodded stiffly, still a bit confused by the new pieces of information. Even if the war was definitely something despicable, Junhwe reckoned that humans ought to learn from Lycoi. They lived together, united and loving, each one of them having its own purpose within the pack. They weren’t held back by bodiless and ageless rules that no one even knew the origin of.

Junhwe glanced up to the now darkening sky before taking in a deep breath. It smelt like rain and  clay. The sun was starting to set and the weather was incredibly colder. It seemed as if winter was coming back, stronger than ever after the few days of sun.

With a silent agreement, both Taehyung and Junhwe went back inside the building, the two of them shivering from the biting cold. Junhwe didn’t have anything to do and as always when he was free, he was going to go back to his room to take a nap. As he was about to enter the main corridor, Taehyung in his tracks, Hoseok and another girl Junhwe had never seen before arrived.

They looked close, holding hands and walking side by side. The heat had just ended and Junhwe had been aware of Hoseok’s absence throughout the whole thing. At least, now he knew why. He looked at the two of them with a small knowing smile before glancing at Taehyung next to him. His mouth was slack and his eyes wide open, he looked completely dumbfounded and it confused Junhwe. After all, Hoseok was quite handsome and funny, it only made sense for him to find someone, especially during the heat.

It took Junhwe a few more seconds to remember that Hoseok was a Beta as well.  He glanced back at the couple with more care, looking for pieces of evidence that he already knew he wouldn’t find. They may not have been able to mate, but they looked just as in love as any other couple and it warmed Junhwe’s heart up.

The two of them had not seen them and entered one of the bedroom, probably Hoseok’s, looking at each other with big grins as if they were the happiest people on Earth.

Taehyung was still standing motionless, his gaze stuck on the ground as if he was lost in thoughts. Junhwe could understand that it could upset him. Hoseok was a Beta, just like him, but he had a partner. Even if they were never going to be mates, they seemed to love each other and  Junhwe knew that Taehyung envied them  somehow .

“ _You should really give it a try.”_ Junhwe said  again with a smile before walking away, leaving behind a very confused Taehyung to stand in the middle of the corridor on his own.

Junhwe knew that Haneul had probably never considered Taehyung being a potential partner but he was sure that it had nothing to do with the other man being a Beta. Taehyung was rather good looking and definitely funny, based on the way everyone around him seemed to be laughing or smiling. He was alike a bright sun, constantly shining and radiating happiness, a bit like Haneul. They were somehow similar and Junhwe was sure that they could become more than friends. They both deserved to be happy and Junhwe thought it would be even better if they were to be happy together.

Junhwe stretched out his arms above his head before stopping in front of his bedroom door. He entered the room with a yawn, lazily shutting the door behind him. Without even thinking twice, Junhwe dropped down onto Jinhwan bed, laying his head on the elder’s pillow. It smelt like him and Junhwe almost felt embarrassed. But he was alone and he was missing Jinhwan more than he thought he would. He needed a bit of comfort.

Slowly, Junhwe closed his eyes and breathed in deeply the honey scent. He could feel his heart beat picking up and his body  b ecoming warmer.

Ever since the elder had left, Junhwe hadn’t been able to keep him away from his mind. He kept thinking of the kiss they had shared and the way it had made him feel. He didn’t know if he could call that love and if he was completely honest with himself, he didn’t really care anyway. All he needed to know was that he had enjoyed it and that he wanted to kiss Jinhwan again.

Junhwe could ponder on his feelings later, all that seemed to matter for now was the elder’s absence and the emptiness that it had left in his heart. He had hated the way Jinhwan had had to leave so quickly. They had not been able to talk things over and Junhwe had been left with only confusion and raging feelings racking his heart.

Junhwe sat up with a sigh. He didn’t even know what to do. He just needed to have some sort of occupation so that he could stop worrying and thinking about Jinhwan.

Just as he stood up from the bed, Junhwe heard a long and harrowing howl that broke the silence of the hospital. He was immediately reminded of what had happened a few days ago and without even thinking twice, Junhwe ran up to the door and opened it forcefully.

His heart was beating so fast and so strongly that it seemed to deafen any other sound surrounding him. Many people were rushing down the corridors, all headed towards the main hall.

Before Junhwe could decide to follow them along, Haneul’s familiar face came into vision. As their eyes locked, his whole face lit up with recognition. He quickly ran in front of Junhwe’s bedroom door and stared a few seconds in silence. He looked more alarmed than Junhwe had ever seen him before.

“ _What’s happening?_ ” Junhwe asked, his voice drown out by the sound of people running madly.

“ _Something went wrong, we need to gather in the main hall.”_

Junhwe felt his heart stop. He nodded curtly, unable to find words. The two of them joined the mob and made their way to the main hall among the other confused and worried Lycoi.

Junhwe took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. The loudness around him was giving him a headache and his vision seemed to get blurry the more he was pushed around by others.

When they finally arrived in the main hall, Haneul took them both to one corner, finally allowing them to breathe more easily. Everyone was talking at the same time, making comments on the situation and trying to understand what was going on.

They all seemed to be just as lost as Junhwe felt and it didn’t make him feel any better. _‘Something went wrong’_ , but what? He knew, without anyone telling him, that it was definitely related to the Omegas’ mission.

Junhwe glanced over at Haneul and felt his heart sink even deeper in his chest from the look of fear on the other boy’s features. His honey eyes were darkened by a terror stronger than any other. The fact that they still were awkward with one another didn’t seem as important in that moment. 

Junhwe only had Haneul by his side and it was the only thing keeping him from completely freaking out.

“ _I’ve heard that they were spotted on the way to the den.”_ Haneul whispered, his voice so low compared to the buzzing of the other Lycoi that Junhwe thought for a second that he had imagined it. 

As the word registered in his mind, Junhwe felt the panic take over. He knew that the Omegas were fast, hard to track, and all of that, but what if they had gotten into an actual fight? After all, they had taken Alphas along.

“ _Where are they?”_ Junhwe asked, his mind completely blank from the anxiety.

“ _Some of them managed to flee and get back here, but not all of them.”_

Junhwe could swear his heart stopped for a few seconds. It was as if air had been knocked out of his lungs, preventing him from speaking or even breathing for a few seconds.

Before Junhwe could inquire any more on the matter, everything suddenly quieted down, making his attention shift from Haneul’s worried face to his surroundings. All the other Lycoi were staring ahead towards the elevated platform at the other end of the room on which Mino was standing. 

Everything from the way the man was standing in the middle of the stage and the way everyone was waiting with baited breath reminded Junhwe of the last gathering they had, in that very room, on the day Yoongi died.

It unsettled him, the atmosphere was just as sombre and heavy and no matter how hard he tried to remain positive, Junhwe could feel fear’s claws racking his heart.

Then, Mino cleared his throat loudly, bringing everyone’s attention to him. After a few seconds of deafening silence, he spoke up, his voice strong and assertive.

“ _There is a traitor.”_

A whisper broke among the Lycoi, temporarily filling Junhwe’s head with noise. It seemed as if he couldn’t think any more. 

“ _They were awaited by the Snow Pack, they knew we were coming.”_ Mino added after a few minutes, making every Lycos quiet down. _“We don’t know how, or why, but now there is something more important we need to take care of.”_

As he finished his sentence, Jiwon walked up on the platform, a stroll of white paper in hand. He swiftly stuck it onto the wall with some duck tape before quickly walking up Mino’s sides and spoke up.

“ _We’re going to write down every missing Lycos’ name. If they are seen, smelt, or heard, please report to either Mino or me.”_

Without saying anything else, Jiwon walked back up to the sheet and fished a pen out of his pocket before starting to write down names.

Junhwe would have pushed everyone aside and run up to the sheet to look for Jinwhan’s name if Mino hadn’t suddenly spoke up once more.

“ _Until all the names are written and all Lycoi accounted, everyone has to stay within the den. No one allowed outside.”_

The chatter resumed as soon as Mino walked down from the platform. Everyone was talking at the same time, mixing up all the voices into one loud echo. It gave Junhwe a headache. Without even telling Haneul anything, Junhwe rushed out of the hall and ran without stopping into the lone corridors. He only stopped once he was in front of his room.

He didn’t open the door but instead leant against it, his forehead pressing against the hard wood frame. He took a long deep breath, listening to the silence around him. He couldn’t even think, leaving the utter emptiness in his mind void of any emotions.

He didn’t know how long it would take for Jiwon to write down all the names and Junhwe wasn’t even sure he wanted to look at the sheet. He was too scared of what he could read on it.

After all, Jinhwan wasn’t the only one that had went on that mission. Junhwe wished with all his heart for the elder to be safe, but even if he happened to be, it couldn’t be the case for all the others. If they had needed to put up a sheet, it meant that a lot of Lycoi were missing. 

Junhwe suddenly remembered that he didn’t even know where Dongmin was. He had not seen his best friend since the end of the heat and he had not had the chance to ask anyone if Dongmin was going on the mission.

He could feel the lump in his throat growing from the guiltiness. Junhwe had been so caught up in his new foolish feelings that he had not even paid attention to his one and only best friend. He couldn’t live with himself if something happened to Dongmin.

Junhwe gathered all the courage he had and walked back to the main hall. He was going to wait in front of that forsaken sheet and read every single name on it until he was sure that he couldn’t read Jinhwan’s or Dongmin’s. He was tired of feeling scared and worried, he needed to man up. They were at war, and even if he had never asked to be part of it, he was and he couldn’t keep acting like a child.

Unlike what he had expected, the hall was mostly empty. The only Lycoi present were people Junhwe had never talked to and didn’t even knew the names of. Jiwon was still writing down names and only a few people were reading the names.

It seemed as if no one really wanted to read it, and Junhwe could definitely understand that. He, himself, felt like running away. The closer he got to the sheet, the louder his heart was beating. 

As he climbed up the platform, Junhwe roamed his eyes over the few people looking at the sheets. A girl was sobbing, another was wailing, some guy was screaming, and even if Junhwe didn’t know any of these people, he could relate to their pain. He could only hope that he wasn’t going to feel the same way when reading the names.

Junhwe took another deep breath before walking up to the sheet. Once he was close enough, he realised that the sheet was divided into two sections, one for the missing people, one for the dead ones. 

Junhwe immediately started reading the names written there with baited breath. He felt a slight tinge to his heart when he read Yoongi’s name but kept going without even stopping. He needed to make sure there were no familiar names there.

Thankfully, the list was quite short, no more than 5 names, and Junhwe only knew Yoongi’s.

With a heavy heart, Junhwe glanced up to the other section which was a lot fuller than the other one.

He immediately stopped on the very first name on the list, his eyes widening in confusion and surprise. _Taehyun._ Saying that Junhwe didn’t like Taehyun was an under-statement but he still couldn’t help but worry. Taehyun had already been captured by the Snow Pack once and Junhwe couldn’t only imagine how terrified he would be if he were to be their prisoner again.

Just as he was about to keep on reading, Junhwe was suddenly reminded of a small detail that suddenly unsettled him. Taehyun wasn’t allowed on missions any more, he shouldn’t have been out, he shouldn’t be missing.

The conclusion was easy to draw, but Junhwe wasn’t going to judge without any proof. Even if Taehyun had indeed said a few weird things and even if there was a traitor among the pack, Junhwe wanted to believe that it wasn’t him.

He didn’t want to believe there was a traitor at all.

How could a Lycos even betray its own pack?

Junhwe shook the thought away and resumed his reading, feeling even more anxious than before. After stumbling across a few completely foreign names, Junhwe stopped once more upon Jinwoo’s. He remembered meeting the other man a few days ago, and even if he couldn’t remember his face very clearly, he did remember that he was the Main Omega. Junhwe could only imagine what were to happen if the Main Omega died. He quickly pushed the thought away. This was the missing people sheet, not the dead ones. He should hope. Jinwoo was probably still alive.

Junhwe looked through both lists a few more times but he still wasn’t able to find any other names he knew. He sighed in relief before walking away. The lists weren’t that filled with names and even if some Lycoi were missing, they could still be trying to find the way back to the den.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Junhwe had feared. Jinwhan’s and Dongmin’s name were nowhere to be found and even if he did feel sorry for the Lycoi that had lost loved ones, Junhwe couldn’t help but feel relieved that he hadn’t been anyone he knew.

Just as he was about to walk down the platform, Jiwon entered the room, looking quite in a hurry. He rushed up the platform and ran up to sheet, pen in hand. He quickly scribbled down a few more names and left as quickly as he had entered.

Junhwe looked in silence as the present Lycoi walked up to the sheet to read the newly written names. Some walked away without looking affected, some gasped, another started crying.

Junhwe took a deep breath as he started to walk ahead as well, but suddenly stopped when he saw Haneul run past him. The boy looked at both sections for a few seconds in silence. Then, slowly, he backed away, his gaze still stuck on the bottom of the sheet where Jiwon had just scribbled new names.

Junhwe was close enough to hear Haneul whisper a few words in disbelief. His mouth hung open, jaw slack and eyes wet. He remained motionless and unblinking as a lone tear fell down his cheek.

Junhwe slowly walked up to the other boy’s sides, unsure as to hat he was supposed to do. He would have hugged him but he didn’t even know if he could consider Haneul as his friend any more.

Junhwe glanced at the sheet as he put what he hoped to be a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder.

A few names had been added to the missing people sheet and among them, only one was familiar. _Kim Seokjin._ Junhwe took a sharp intake of breath before glancing back to Haneul. He remembered perfectly well the day where Junhwe had first met Seokjin, in human, and the way he and Haneul had seemed so close. Just like family, hugging and being as comfortable around someone as one can be.

Junhwe glanced back at the sheet, looking for the other sombre section. Two more names had been added as well but Junhwe’s eyes stopped straight away on the first and very familiar one. _Kim Namjoon._

Junhwe didn’t think twice before turning around and taking Haneul in his arms. As a mere human, Junhwe could never understand how tight bonds between Lycoi could be. He didn’t know what a mate was, he didn’t know what it was to be part of a pack, to have a family to call your own. He just knew, from what he had seen, that Haneul loved from the bottom of his heart his pack members. 

Namjoon was the Main Alpha, the most important Lycos, the one that held the pack together, the one Haneul looked up to and admired. And now he was gone.

After a few seconds, Haneul relaxed and sagged against Junhwe’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Junhwe’s back and returned the hug, his head hidden in the other boy’s shoulder.

Junhwe could feel the tears wetting his shirt and it broke his heart. From where they stood, motionless in their sharing of warmth and comfort, Junhwe could still read the sheet.

He looked at the growing amount of names with a heavy heart, feeling more than ever the ravage of the war. It seemed stupid to him that it took so long to realise it, but it was only in that moment that Junhwe understood that he wasn’t the only one affected by the war.

He had been only worried about himself, finding his mother being the only thing on his mind. He had remained self-centred, only thinking of his own problems and his own trouble without even once thinking of the others.

He wasn’t even part of the war, he wasn’t fighting for it. He wasn’t one of the most affected person and yet he had only been worried for himself. Junhwe wasn’t the only one losing people he cared for.

He knew it was wrong to feel that way, and even with Haneul’s tears rolling down his shirt, Junhwe was still relieved to not see Dongmin or Jinhwan on those sheets.

He hated the way he was feeling. He knew he was being more than selfish, he was being inhumane, but he couldn’t seem to push these thoughts away. He was thankful to not read more familiar names, even if the sheets were getting fuller.

Junhwe glanced back at the section for the dead Lycoi and he quickly counted the names. There only were seven, which was rather a good thing. Even if the missing people sheet was a lot more filled now, there was still hope for these people.

Without much thought, Junhwe read the five first names again. Then, he looked down at Namjoon’s name and felt a slight tinge in his heart. He had talked with the man only once but his wide grin and kind eyes would forever remain in his memory.

With a sigh, Junhwe looked at the next and last name. The second he laid his eyes upon it, he felt his blood freeze in his veins. He read it at least five more times, just to make sure that each letter was in the right order. It took him another few minutes of staring at the name in silence too really start understanding what it meant.

His arms that held Haneul close to him limply fell to his sides, losing their hold on the boy’s shoulders. Junhwe stood completely motionless as he kept staring at the sheet.

His mind was blank. He couldn’t think. He was sure that he even forgot to breathe for a few seconds. He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t even see anything. All there was inside him was confusion.

With hollow laugh, Junhwe took a wobbly step back. He slowly walked away from the sheet, his eyes still stuck on the seventh name of the dead people list.

It made no sense. There was no way.

From the corner of his eyes, Junhwe could see that Haneul was looking at him warily, his honey eyes still filled with tears.

Junhwe would have told him not to worry, that everything was fine, but he seemed to have lost his voice. After all, it probably was a mistake. She couldn’t possibly have been killed during the fights. She wasn’t even supposed to be out there.

Maybe there was a Lycos that had went on the mission that was named Koo Chaemin.

Junhwe felt his legs tremble as if they were about to give out. He took another step back and turned around. He quickly jumped of the platform and ran out of the room, leaving everything behind him.

He knew that Haneul was probably very confused but Junhwe would come back to cheer him up as soon as he would have talked with Mino. He just wanted to make sure that it was indeed another Lycos.

Junhwe felt a laugh leave his lips without him meaning to. He felt like he had lost control over his body, as if he had suddenly switched to auto-pilot mode. It didn’t feel like he could think any more, he was just watching from the outside as his body roamed aimlessly around the building.

Junhwe didn’t even know where to find Mino. The more he walked, the closer to breaking down he was. All the corridors looked the same, dirty and bloody, just like the day where he had first arrived at the den.

They looked even more oppressing than before, as if they were telling him the stories behind all the spilled blood.

Junhwe didn’t really know when he had started to cry but he only realised it when he felt a single tear drop on his collarbone. He roughly rubbed at his eyes, brushing the tears away. There was no reason to cry. His mother was going to be alright.

After a few minutes of running through the hospital aimlessly, Junhwe came to a stop to catch his breath. His lungs were burning and his eyes hurt from how hard he had been rubbing them. He ran a hand through his messy black locks, trying to collect his thoughts. He didn’t even know where he was.

Just as he was about to turn around, Junhwe a familiar voice that immediately got his attention. It was too unmistakably sweet for him not to recognize it. He quickly wiped his head around, trying to find where it came from.

A bit further down the corridor, a door was open, lighting up the walls with the sun rays pouring from the room. Junhwe quickly ran up to it and looked inside. As he had thought, Jinhwan was inside, but he wasn’t alone. In front of him stood Mino, but the man didn’t look as imposing as Junhwe remembered him to be. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes tired and red as if he had been crying which seemed very unlikely coming from a man like him.

When Junhwe glanced back at the elder, he realised that he looked just as wrecked. His orange hair was a complete mess, it was sticking in every direction possible and was dirtied with both blood and mud. His face was wet with tears but also bloodied from a few cuts.

The two men were facing one another, staring in complete silence. They seemed to be in what probably was a meeting room based on the long table and numerous chairs and it definitely did not help Junhwe know where he was. He didn’t even know there were meeting rooms for they had been gathering in the hall since he had arrived.

Just as he was about to enter the room, Jinwhan spoke up, his voice loud and harsh, very much unlike what he usually sounded like.

“ _How could you hide that from us?”_ He spat, still staring unblinkingly at Mino.

He looked far angrier than Junhwe had ever seen him, even with the tears streaming down his cheeks. None of them seemed to had noticed Junhwe and even if he was desperate to get answers, he felt like it wasn’t a right time to interrupt the two men. Before he could decide on what to do, however, Mino spoke up.

“ _And what was I supposed to do? Donghyun made me promise not to say a word!”_ He cried, his voice filled with pain and regret.

Junhwe stopped in his tracks. He didn’t want to believe it, but it would make sense. It would explain why his mother had never wanted to talk about his father. After all, she had hidden the fact that she was linked to Lycoi, why wouldn’t his father be too? 

“ _Koo Donghyun? What does Junhwe’s father have to do with any of this?”_ Jinhwan asked warily, the anger still as present in his harsh voice.

Before Mino could answer, Junhwe entered the room, bringing both man’s attention to him. He just couldn’t take it any more. His mother’s name was written on the dead people’s list and his father had  apparently  been linked to Lycoi as well, he was tired of secrets and lies.

Junhwe locked eyes with Jinhwan without saying a word. He saw the surprise in the older man’s eyes, before it quickly switched to sadness. Junhwe felt his heart beat painfully in his chest before he glanced away to look at Mino.

The other man was looking straight at him, looking just as surprised as Jinhwan. He opened his mouth before closing it again, he looked at loss for words.

Junhwe could feel the anger welling up in him. 

“ _I need answers.”_

It was all Junhwe said. After that lone sentence, the silence came back, stronger than before. Jinhwan was staring at the ground as if guilty of anything. Junhwe didn’t think Jinhwan should blame himself for anything.

After all, it had been Mino hiding things all along and since his mother was going to be fine, there was nothing to be sorry about. Junhwe simply wanted to know why he was being targeted, how his father was linked to anything, and why his mother’s name was on the list. Mere answers, that was all he was striving.

On hindsight, he should probably have asked straight away the day he had arrived in the den, it would have been easier for everyone that way.

“ _I’m so sorry for your mother Junhwe.”_ Mino said as he averted his gaze.

Junhwe could see a tear fall from Mino’s eye, rolling down the man’s tanned cheek. Junhwe let out a small laugh before shaking his head. Nothing was wrong with his mother.

“ _They couldn’t bring back the body.”_

A tear fell down, quickly followed by another. Junhwe remained standing motionless as he processed Mino’s words. He couldn’t find anything to say. There were too many things at a time in his mind. He needed to ask questions about his father, not hear things that did not concern him. He felt sorry for the Koo Chaemin Lycos, but it had nothing to do with his mother.

Junhwe’s head shot up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jinhwan was standing in front of him, looking up to him with tears-filled eyes. He had a look of deep empathy on his face as if he was feeling Junhwe’s pain.

But Junhwe simply felt numb.

He shook his head once more before letting out another hollow laugh. Tears were streaming down his face without him wanting to. It felt like they couldn’t be stopped. Junhwe took a step back and shrugged Jinhwan’s hand away, feeling a slight pain in his heart when he saw the look of hurt on the elder’s face.

Junhwe turned around and left the room without looking back, he needed to be alone with his thoughts.


	14. Frailty

26th December 2016, Gonjiam Forest.

Junhwe let himself fall down onto his knees. His legs couldn't hold him up any more. His fall had scratched his knees pretty badly, it was painful and he was bleeding but Junhwe didn't have the heart to care about that. 

Another tear fell down his cheek as he remembered Mino's words. Now that he was past denial, Junhwe simply felt numb. He couldn't even feel angry. After all, no one was to blame. Mino may have hidden things from him but it hadn't changed his desire to get Junhwe's mother back. Everyone had tried, both packs had worked together to free her. No one was to be blamed, yet Junhwe was blaming everyone.

He was blaming Jinhwan for not investigating the matter. He knew it was stupid, if anyone really hadn't done anything wrong it was Jinhwan, but Junhwe couldn't help it.

He was blaming Mino for not trying to free her earlier. They knew she was in danger but they had taken their sweet time to finally go to the Snow Pack's den.

But above everyone else, Junhwe was blaming himself. He hated the way he had spoken to his mother on the phone, he hated how much of an ungrateful child he had been. He hated that he had not hugged his mother in years, that he had not told her that he loved her.

Junhwe could feel the lump in his throat growing impossibly bigger as a sob left his lips. He violently tugged at his hair in frustration, the pain shot up from his scalp straight away. Junhwe took a deep breath as more tears spilled from his eyes. 

His head was filled with memories of his mother. Her voice, her eyes, her hair, her smell, every little things that Junhwe had never even realised he was going to miss, things that he was already missing.

He glanced around him, unable to tell where he was. He had just ran out of the hospital without caring, he had not even looked behind to see if someone had ran after him. Deep inside, Junhwe wanted Jinhwan to be out there, in the woods, looking for him desperately.

He knew it probably wasn't the case. They had dozens of Lycoi missing, dead bodies to retrieve and a pack to avenge, some lost human boy wasn't their priority.

_"Oh, Junhwe, what a convenience."_

Junhwe shot up, wincing at the pain from his scorched knees. In front of him was Taehyun, standing motionless on his thin and pale legs. He was wearing that same unsettling smile as he stared at Junhwe in silence, his eyes as lifeless as ever.

Junhwe backed up slowly, feeling utterly uneasy. Taehyun was on the missing people list although he had no reason to be and yet he was happily standing in front of Junhwe as if nothing was wrong.

But there were many things wrong with Taehyun and Junhwe couldn't help thinking that Taehyun had very high chances of being the traitor.

 _"I was looking for you."_ He said as he walked closer to Junhwe. _"You had a talk with Mino, right? I told you they were lying."_

Junhwe shook his head. Even if there indeed was only one liar and that it was Mino, Junhwe wanted to believe he had had a good reason to keep the truth away from him.

_"It's because of them that you couldn't save your mom. You should hate them."_

Junhwe knew where Taehyun was going with that. He wasn’t even supposed to know about his mother’s death, he hadn’t been in the Hospital for hours. Junhwe knew what it meant. He had very little doubt left that Taehyun wasn’t the mole, he had somehow expected it all along. Taehyun may not have been the stronger looking Lycos Junhwe had met, he was still sure that he couldn't do anything against a wolf's sharp claws and teeth. Junhwe needed to be careful.

_"Why am I targeted?"_ He asked warily, trying to back away as slowly as possible.

Taehyun seemed surprise by his question. His droopy brows shot up to his hairline, before he took a deep breath and looked away in the distance as if looking for an answer. Junhwe used that small second of distraction to bend down and take a piece of hard wood in his hand before swiftly hiding it behind his back. It could always be used as some sort of weapon if Junhwe got in trouble, not that Taehyun seemed dangerous.

_"Because you're Donghyun's son. That makes you a hybrid, even more despicable than Omegas to the Snow Pack's eyes."_

Junhwe took a sharp intake of breath. Somewhere along the way, he had started to think of that possibility. After his talk with Haneul on the way he smelt, he had realised that something made him different from other humans, but alike Lycoi. He had never really known his father and his mother had always refused to talk about him.

Saying that he had not thought about it at all would be a lie, but hearing it stated as easily, as if it was a simple fact that everyone was aware of made Junhwe feel sick to his stomach. He didn't want to question his identity, he didn't want things to get complicated.

_"It's also because the Snow Pack wanted to finish the work they had started when killing your father."_

Junhwe looked up to Taehyun's empty eyes. He opened his mouth before closing it right after, he was at loss for words. He quickly glanced down at the ground, trying to collect his thoughts as his eyes began to water once more.

Ever since he was a small child, he had believed that his father had died in a car accident, that was what his mother had told him. He still remembered that day, where he had seen his mother cry for the first time of his life. He remembered the way her obsidian eyes had filled up with tears as she as stumbled on her words, trying to explain to the five-year-old Junhwe that his father wasn't coming back.

All that pain, inflicted to his mother, to him, and now his mother's death, Junhwe had believed that it wasn't really anyone's fault, that it was the way life was, sometimes cruel and harsh. He had been wronged, he had been lied to, it was someone's fault. It was the Snow Pack's. It had been their aim all along to kill his mother, they had killed his father, and now they wanted to kill him too.

Junhwe huffed as he glanced up at the grey sky, tears spilling from his eyes. That was what Mino had hidden from him. He had hidden Junhwe's life, he had hidden that what Junhwe believed, all the pillars of his childhood, were false, paper made illusions that he had been lulled in forever.

_"You are right to hate them, it's their fault."_ Taehyun whispered in a sickeningly sweet voice.

He slowly crept closer until he was close enough to put a hand on Junhwe's shoulder. The coldness of the boy's palm made Junhwe shiver. He swiftly backed away, shrugging Taehyun's hand off, much alike what he had done with Jinhwan's.

He would give anything to be back with the elder in the hospital, and not lost in the woods with an unstable insane Lycos. Taehyun was with the Snow Pack, he was with the people that wanted his death, the people that had killed Yoongi and many others.

The people that had killed his parents.

_"You're the one I should hate."_ Junhwe spat as he turned around and started running with all he had.

He had no idea which direction he was running to, he might have been running even further away from the hospital. He just needed to get away, to find someone to help him. Taehyun wasn't imposing, but he was still a Lycos.

The more Junhwe ran, the harder it was to keep going. His knees were painful, his lungs felt like they were on fire and the numerous low tree branches were slapping his face so hard that he probably had small cuts all around his face.

After a few minutes of running, Junhwe arrived at a little river he recognized with a sigh of relief to be the one he and his friends had had played at a few days ago. He vaguely remembered the way from here to the hospital, he wasn't lost. 

He took a swift look behind him, trying to see if Taehyun was any close to him but he couldn't see the other boy anywhere. Junhwe made a small stop to breathe deeply and make sure he was going to right way before walking up ahead, ready to start running again.

As he was about to enter the forest once more, a wolf shot in front of him, preventing him from advancing any further.

If Junhwe had never seen the wolf before, it still made no doubt of who it was. The wolf was small, almost as small as Jinhwan and it was so bony that Junhwe doubted it even had any muscle at all. Under his short and shaggy light brown fur, he could see every single bone. It didn't look menacing at all and Junhwe felt comforted for a second.

Yes, Taehyun was a Lycos, but he was a sick and weak one. Junhwe could probably out run him.

As he was about to run around the wolf, it let out a snarl, baring its teeth menacingly. Junhwe backed away of a few steps. He still had his risible wooden weapon well hidden behind his back, under his shirt, and even if it was small, it was sharp and hard. He could try to hit Taehyun with it, just to make him a bit dizzy, and then run back to the hospital.

Junhwe slowly reached behind him, staring unblinkingly into Taehyun's lifeless eyes. The second his hand touched the wood, another wolf shot out of the bushes. It immediately ran between Junhwe and Taehyun, facing the other wolf.

Junhwe didn't need to see its face to know who it was, the bright orange fur had given it away the second Jinhwan had rushed out of the forest. Junhwe slowly let go of the piece of wood, with Jinhwan there to help him, he didn't need to worry.

The elder slowly backed away until he stood next to Junhwe. He gave Junhwe's hand a small before pressing his shoulder against the boy's thigh in a comforting manner. With one hand, Junhwe shrugged the last tears away and with the other he patted Jinhwan's head to convey his thankfulness.

He would have crouched down to hug the elder if he didn’t feel so wronged and angry with everything and everyone. He knew that it wasn’t really Jinhwan’s fault, but deep down, Junhwe still felt like he was right to blame every Lycoi for what he had gone through.He didn’t like the way all of this was making him feel.

He didn’t even know what he was feeling any more. It was a complete messy mix of emotions that were all mingled together, ready to make his heart burst out.

Junhwe had never felt this horrible before. He wanted to lie down and cry his eye out. He wanted to shout out and scream of anger and frustration. He wanted to go up to Mino and punch him square in the face with all he had. But Junhwe knew that now wasn’t the time. He needed to save his life before trying to put it back together.

With a deep breath, Junhwe looked up to Taehyun’s eyes as he tried to assess the other wolf. He looked more worried now that Jinhwan was there. He had backed up a few steps and he didn’t look as keen on attacking as he did before.

Junhwe reckoned, based on Jinhwan’s size, that although he was one of the best spies, he definitely wasn’t the best fighter. Thankfully, Taehyun was an Omega as well, he was small and not made for battles. They definitely had an advantage since they were two and Taehyun wasn’t really much in shape.

Without any warning, Jinhwan suddenly charged ahead, surprising both Taehyun and Junhwe. He leaped forward and opened his maw, ready to tear Taehyun’s throat. Just as his fangs were about to hit Taehyun’s skin, another wolf jumped out of the bushes and launched itself at Jinhwan, throwing the elder away to roll down onto the ground a few meters away.

Jinhwan got up swiftly, surprised and disoriented but overall looking alright. Junhwe quickly glanced back to the other Lycos. The new opponent wasn’t a foreign wolf and Junhwe felt his heart beating even faster as he recognized the creamy white fur and the large scar on its shoulder.

It was still that same wolf, the one that had tried to kill him in the alley-way, the one that had killed Yoongi. Junhwe felt the fury welling up inside him as his eyes met the wolf’s now oddly familiar dark angry eyes.

Jinhwan in the meantime had started to run towards the two wolves once more, launching himself at the creamy white wolf strongly. It was much bigger and much more imposing and although the two entered in collision pretty harshly, the creamy wolf didn’t even budge.

Junhwe was about to run to Jinhwan to help him in any way but was stopped as Taehyun placed himself between the two fighting wolves and Junhwe. He bared his teeth, ready to jump at him.

Without even thinking his actions through, Junhwe quickly reached under his shirt, took a hold of the wooden stick he had been hiding and ran towards Taehyun. With all the strength he had, Junhwe lurched the stick at Taehyun’s face and struck him in the head. The horrible sound that the shock created made Junhwe feel sick to his stomach. He didn’t know which, but he had probably broken one of Taehyun’s bone.

Taehyun roughly fell to his side before faintly shaking his head. He looked completely disoriented and in an intense pain but Junhwe didn’t have time to care.

A shriek of pain made his attention go from the motionless pile of fur to Jinhwan. The elder’s front paw was slightly bleeding and he was lying down on his side, unable to move as the other creamy wolf held him down. It was on top of the elder, his maw close to his throat, ready to tear it apart.

Junhwe didn’t think much. He ran with all he had towards the two wolves and kicked as strongly as he could the creamy wolf’s head. 

Junhwe cried in pain as he fell down next to Jinhwan. He quickly glanced at his ankle and almost heaved when he saw the funny angle it was bent at. Kicking a wolf’s skull might not have been the best thing to do, but at least the other creamy wolf was now lying down a few meters away. It looked as if it was struggling to stand up again.

Jinhwan slowly got up and walked in front of Junhwe, putting himself between them once more. He couldn’t even stand up properly and his paw was hanging mid air as if putting it down onto the ground would be too painful. Which was probably the case, Junhwe realised as his heart beat painfully in his chest.

The creamy wolf slowly stood up as well, turning around to glare at the two of them. It didn’t look nearly as hurt as Jinhwan was and Junhwe quickly realised that they weren’t going to win this fight on their own.

He swiftly glanced back to where Taehyun was. He was lying down motionless and Junhwe would have almost felt bad if he hadn’t just tried to kill him too.

At least they had managed to get one Lycos down. With a bit of luck, Junhwe could try to distract the other wolf and give a chance for Jinhwan to run away. But who was he kidding, really. He knew perfectly well that just like Yoongi, Jinhwan wouldn’t run away. That was how Lycoi were, always ready to help one another, even if it would cause them to die.

Junhwe admired them for that. They may be wild and savage at times, but they were more loyal than humans would ever be.

Junhwe looked back to the creamy wolf in front of them, it was slowly creeping closer and Junhwe knew that Jinhwan wasn’t going to be able to stop him. Junhwe took a deep breath as he tried to find a way out that would save both of them.

Just as he was about to lose hope, Junhwe heard the familiar rustling of leaves that always came before the sudden appearance of a Lycos. He swiftly turned around, praying for it to be a friendly Lycos.

More than a friendly Lycos, two familiar wolves arrived on the side of the river. One was completely black except for its slightly lighter muzzle and had clear honey eyes. Junhwe immediately recognized it to be Haneul. 

The other wolf was even easier to recognize for the peculiar shade of its fur was too odd to be forgotten. The wolf was mainly black but had random patch of light grey and white all over its body, beside of its ears which were of a charcoal black. Junhwe locked his gaze with the wolf’s familiar warm eyes, giving his best friend a small nod.

Without further ado, Haneul quickly rushed forwards, before anyone could even react and pushed the creamy wolf down. They were about the same size but Haneul was way bulkier and stronger.

Dongmin followed suit and rushed to Taehyun’s sides. He harshly threw the frail wolf on his back before running towards Jinwhan and Junhwe.

Junhwe quickly glanced back to Haneul just in time to see ugly blood pour out of the newly formed gash on the creamy wolf neck. Junhwe stared in horror as Haneul turned around to look at him, his black fluffy fur tainted with even darker stains. His eyes were empty of any emotions as he some blood off his muzzle.

Junhwe looked from the gash and the torn skin to the pool of blood before shutting tightly his eyes. He felt like if he looked any longer he would throw up. The smell of blood was so strong all around him that he could almost feel its taste on his tongue. Junhwe opened his eyes and glanced up at the dark sky. His eyes were wet and he didn’t even bother holding the tears back as they started to flow down his bloodied cheeks.

Without even meaning to, he thought back on the second time that wolf had attacked him, the day where Yoongi had died while protecting him. Just like that day, everything around him seemed to be of a red colour and the only smell present in the hair was the spilled blood’s.

Junhwe hissed in pain as he applied more gel to his ankle. The simple feeling of the coldness on his twisted bone seemed to put it on fire. He was going to need an actual doctor for that one injury.

He sighed as he sat back down on the nursery’s bed. He was pretty sure it was supposed to be the bed Jimin used but the other man had been nowhere to be found when Junhwe had dragged himself to the nursery.

Jinhwan and Dongmin needed to bring Taehyun to Mino, most likely to ask a few questions to the newly discovered mole. Haneul had left Junhwe to go to the nursery on his own, probably so that he could have the time to shift back. _And wash the blood off,_ Junhwe thought.

The mere memory of Haneul’s maw filled-blood and the motionless pile of red-tainted white fur next to him was enough to make him retch. 

Junhwe took a deep breath as he glanced at the blood on his hands. He didn’t even know when he had got blood on them, but he knew that it was utterly disgusting.

A lone tear fell down his cheek as he kept on staring down at his red palms. He felt exhausted, completely worn out. It was as if the recent events had drained the life out of him. He even wondered how he was still alive. 

A whole pack of hungry beasts wanted his death. They had killed both his mother and his father, even a few other of these same beasts that claimed to be his ally had died from their hands.

Junhwe let out a bitter laugh as he glanced out of the window. The sky was still as grey and gloomy. He didn’t know who his allies were any more. Both sides were heartless killers, both sides claimed to be fighting for the right cause.

All Junhwe knew was that he was tired of it. He was tired of everything.

The door to the nursery suddenly opened, bringing Junhwe’s attention on the new-comer. The boy’s familiar shiny dark hair was a complete mess and he still had a bit of blood around his face. None of his clothes were matching and it looked as if he had put on his shirt inside-out. His clear honey eyes were staring back at Junhwe evenly as he stood in silence for a few seconds.

Junhwe would have laughed at how ridicule Haneul looked if only he didn’t feel as dead inside as he currently felt.

“ _I’m done.”_ He suddenly whispered, more to himself than to Haneul.

“ _What do you mean?”_ Haneul asked warily, his voice edgy as he came closer to Junhwe’s bed.

Junhwe glanced up tiredly to meet Haneul’s familiar honey eyes. Unlike usual, he didn’t find any comfort while looking at his friend’s eyes, he didn’t feel any warmth spreading throughout his body as Haneul put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He felt cold, just as cold as when Taehyun had touched him. He even almost felt disgusted.

“ _I give up, I’m going back to Seoul. I just can’t any more.”_ He whispered, his voice breaking down to a pitiful sob.

Junhwe didn’t even know it was humanly possible to feel as horrible as he did in that moment. He felt like a helpless child that had suddenly been thrown into the pit of despair that is war. He had never asked for such pain, he had never wanted any of this.

He didn’t want to fight for that war. He just wanted his old life back. He wanted to go back to his home, he wanted to see his friends again. He wanted Dongmin to come do sleepovers as if nothing happened. He just wished he could turn back in time.

“ _Junhwe, I know you’re going through a hard time right now, but you can’t just...”_

“ _You don’t understand!_ ” Junhwe shot back.

No one understood how he was feeling. Everything he had ever known, his whole life had been in some ways altered. His best friend wasn’t human, nor was his father. His mother was gone and he didn’t even know what he was. Human? Lycos? He was nothing.

“ _Please, just let me talk to Mino. I want to go back.”_ He murmured, his voice only a small whisper.

Junhwe glanced back at Haneul and met the boy’s eyes. He looked pained and sadder than ever before. Junhwe almost felt sorry. Almost.

Dongmin sighed as he gave a last glance to Taehyun. Jinhwan was dragging the other boy away, not minding at all the way he was screaming and complaining. He was tightly bounded anyway, Jinhwan was going to be alright. His foot had been slightly injured in the battle but it was nothing to worry about.

They had had asked a few questions to Taehyun, and surprisingly, the boy had answered all of them without even blinking. He had not lied, Jinhwan would have smelt it. Dongmin had learned, through Taehyun’s words, how Junhwe was the son of Donghyun. It made him a Hybrid. Dongmin didn’t even know it was something possible. But after all, it did make sense.

It explained Junhwe’s smell, the reason behind Chaemin’s awareness regarding Lycoi and how she knew about all of their traditions and behaviours. All of that didn’t change anything for Dongmin. He still loved Junhwe as dearly as before and he couldn’t help but worry for his best friend.

He knew that Haneul was with him, making sure that everything was alright but Dongmin wished he could be there for him too. For now, he needed to help with Taehyun.

Dongmin reckoned that Taehyun was probably actually insane. They had no idea what they were supposed to do with him, and they had decided that for the time being, he was going to be locked in his room until they figured out what to do. 

Dongmin turned around and faced Mino. The man was only the shadow of what he used to be. He skin looked pale and his eyes were red from the crying.

Dongmin could understand. After all, Mino had been mated to Jinwoo and the man was still missing. Among the Lycoi on the mission that had managed to get back, none of them had seen the Cloud Pack’s Main Omega.

Dongmin ran a hand through his messy dark hair with a sigh. His heart was heavy. He had learned about Chaemin’s death and it deeply pained him. He had always been very close to her. Dongmin could only imagine how terrible Junhwe felt.

He wasn’t sure what Taehyun had told Junhwe, or how much of the truth Junhwe knew, but Dongmin knew exactly what it felt like to lose both parents. He had lost his own to the war, the same way Junhwe did.

Just as Dongmin was about to walk up to Mino to speak with him of what to do with Taehyun, the door to the main hall opened so strongly that they hit the walls, the loud noise reverberating throughout the whole room.

Junhwe, with crutches and a neatly bandaged ankle, walked inside. Dongmin had never seen him look that angry. His usual calm black eyes were firing up with a fury Dongmin didn’t even know Junhwe was capable of feeling.

He had always been the laid back kind of person, the one that doesn’t care too much about anything in general. It seemed that for once, Junhwe cared.

“ _I want to leave, Main Alpha.”_

Dongmin felt his blood freeze. He remembered saying the exact same phrase, many years ago. As he stared at Junhwe, he saw the hate and the anger that he had been feeling as well when he had lost his parents. That feeling of unfairness that clouds your judgment, he had also felt it.

“ _Junhwe you_ _need to think that through, you can’t_ _just...”_ Mino started, before he was rudely interrupted.

“ _I can, and I will.”_ Junhwe stated as he glared ahead at the Main Alpha.

Dongmin felt personally offended, although he had no reason to be. Mino wasn’t from his pack, yet such a blatant lack of submission fired up  his Alpha self. Dongmin knew that Junhwe could be childish from time to time. He knew his best friend by heart, and he also knew that he had a tendency to speak his mind without using filters.

It could be good at times, but right now it only made him sound like an annoying child and Dongmin could already feel the frustration building up inside him.

Junhwe was an adult, he was a responsible person and he needed to realise that being in the middle of a war implied losing people you love. Dongmin understood how hard it was, but if he had managed to overcome it as a kid, then Junhwe was definitely going to as a grow n -up.

“ _You can’t leave.”_ Dongmin stated, bringing both Mino’s and Junhwe’s eyes to him.

Dongmin realised that it was very much unfair to Junhwe. He wasn’t a Lycos and yet he had been dragged into that war. But now he was part of it and he had no choice but to fight for it.

His mother and his father had died while fighting, he couldn’t just back away and give up.

Dongmin bit down on his lips as he was suddenly overcome with the realisation that Junhwe was acting the exact same way he did. He was being weak and cowardly, he was running away from his responsibilities and Dongmin hated that.

He hated the childish way he had acted years ago. He was proud of the mature man he had become. He was strong, and he wanted Junhwe to be strong too. They had always been together, always there for each other and Dongmin couldn’t take it if Junhwe just ran away and left him behind.

Friends were supposed to help each other. Dongmin was willing to be there for Junhwe, but Junhwe was willing to abandon him.

That wasn’t what Dongmin called friendship.

“ _You might not have wanted that war but now you’re there, you’ve got to help.”_ Dongmin spat, his voice raising despite himself.

“ _Dongmin, try to understand how he feels, he can leave if he wants to.”_

Dongmin’s glare shot from Junhwe’s shocked face to Mino’s wet eyes. Junhwe couldn’t just abandon them. He wouldn’t be safe on his own in Seoul anyway. He could feel the anger take over as he glanced back at his best friend’s face.

Junhwe was staring back, his eyes wide open from the surprise. Dongmin didn’t often raise his voice, he actually never had when it came to Junhwe. They had never gotten in a fight over their years of friendship. They never had a reason to.

Dongmin had never gotten along with someone as well as he did with Junhwe. He was his most precious friend and he could feel him slip away. The past days Junhwe had been hanging out with many people. He was getting closer with Taehyung, he was close friends with Haneul. It was not even worth mentioning how close he had gotten with Jinhwan and Dongmin knew he ought to be happy than Junhwe was finally becoming more sociable but he couldn’t help but feeling left out.

Dongmin had just kept telling himself that it was going to get better, but now Junhwe was about to leave. 

“ _You can’t just abandon me. That’s just too selfish.”_ Dongmin stated harshly as he walked up to Junhwe.

“ _Oh, so you’d rather have me stay among beasts than get back to my peaceful life and that makes me the selfish one?”_ Junhwe spat back as he glared at Dongmin without even blinking.

Dongmin felt his heart beat painfully in his chest. Deep down, he knew that Junhwe was right. He knew that he was right to see them as beasts, he had all rights to want to get away from the war. Dongmin probably was the selfish one.

“ _You’ve been lying to me for years, now my mom is dead and I have no one left, excuse me for wanting to at least save myself.”_

Dongmin felt like air had been knocked out of his lungs. He glanced up at Junhwe’s face, he couldn’t even recognize his best friend. When had they grown so much apart from one another? Among the usual darkness of Junhwe’s eyes, he could see a strong hate directed towards him that he had never seen before, a hate that he had never thought he would ever get from his best friend. Junhwe’s eyes were wet and shining with unshed tears as he glared at Dongmin.

He could feel the tears gathering at the corners of his own eyes.

“ _Junhwe, I’ll drive you back to your house as soon as we’ve cleared the Hospital’s surroundings. You can go back to your room and pack your things.”_ Mino said, voice flat, as he walked down the elevated platform. 

He stopped in front of Junhwe before putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Junhwe looked up to Mino and gave him a thankful smile.

Dongmin could feel the jealousy tearing his heart apart. All he wanted was for Junhwe to stay with him. He had lost his parents too, he knew what it was like, and in such a time they should stay close to one another, not grow apart.

He couldn’t even begin to comprehend why Junhwe would want to go back to Seoul. He was going to be all alone, without his mother. He would have to explain to the teachers, to his friends, to everyone, why his mother wasn’t there, why Dongmin wasn’t there.

He was going to be in such pain, all on his own, and all Dongmin wished was for Junhwe to allow him by his sides. Even that, it seemed that he wasn’t going to earn it.

“ _How could you do that to me...”_ Dongmin whispered, barely loud enough for Junhwe to hear.

But his best friend most definitely had heard him. Junhwe let his crutches fall down to the ground in a loud clatter as he closed the small meter separating him from Dongmin, his face scrunching up in pain as his right foot touched the ground.

“ _How could I!? Me!?”_ He cried out as he gripped Dongmin’s collar forcefully. “ _You’re the one who’s been lying!”_

Dongmin let out a snarl as he pushed Junhwe backwards, almost making him fall from the strength he had used. He glared at his best friend for a few more seconds before harshly speaking up, voice loud and angry.

“ _It’s not like I wanted to!”_

Junhwe slightly winced from how loud Dongmin had shouted. He quickly collected himself, however, and slowly walked up to Dongmin before stopping right in front of him, only a few centimeters apart. He glanced up at his best friend, his eyes darker than ever before. 

“ _I thought we were friends.”_ Junhwe said slowly, emphasizing each syllable as he looked at Dongmin up and down. _“I can’t recognize you.”_

It felt like someone had just crushed Dongmin’s heart. He opened his mouth and closed it straight away, he couldn’t find anything to answer. He back away before glancing down at the ground. 

He couldn’t recognize himself either.

A tear feel down one of his eyes, then from the other and before Dongmin knew it, he was crying. In the distance, he heard the door open, and then close as both Junhwe’s and Mino’s scents slowly started to fade away.

Dongmin faintly looked around him, but he was the only person in the room. He had never felt this alone before. He had no one he could run to. He had no one left.

Junhwe and him were alike, they were exactly the same and that probably was what had made Dongmin so angry.

Because no matter how hard he had tried to live with it, Dongmin hated himself. He hated how weak he was. He hated the way everyone had always tried to protect him as if he wasn’t capable of anything. No one had ever had expectations for him. He wanted to be strong, he had thought he was, but he wasn’t.

He had seen that weakness in Junhwe, and it had made him angry. He didn’t want Junhwe to be weak, like himself.

But strength wasn’t about being able to refrain from crying, strength was about being able to cry and share your hardships. Junhwe wasn’t weak, Junhwe never stopped running ahead. Junhwe had always been ahead of Dongmin, he was always confronting his problems and trying to solve them. 

Dongmin was running in the opposite direction, he was running from them, and that was what had drawn them apart.

Dongmin knew he was the only one to be blamed. But it still hurt.

Being weak was painful.


	15. Farewell

26th December 2016, Gonjiam Hospital.

Junhwe sighed deeply as he packed his bag. He glanced around one last time to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, not that he had brought much in the first place.

He remembered how Dongmin had been in such a rush, packing bags for the three of them quickly so that they could go hide to the den as fast as possible. At that time, Junhwe still had no idea that he was in actual danger, and that his mother was too.

He could feel tears gather at the corner of his eyes, but he knew he wasn't going to cry. He felt too numb and exhausted, it was as if he had been dried up from all his tears and emotions.

 _"Are you sure?"_ Mino asked from where he stood in the door frame.

Junhwe nodded faintly. He wasn't sure, really. He was already regretting the way he had acted with Dongmin, he really needed to drop the attitude. Dongmin was still his best friend and getting in a fight with him wouldn't benefit anyone.

Junhwe took a deep breath as he stood up, bag fully packed in hand.

 _"I just don't want to be part of this any more."_ Junhwe whispered quietly.

Mino sighed as he walked up to Junhwe. He looked down at the younger man, locking eyes in silence. He looked conflicted and undecided. Junhwe didn't know why.

 _"Just know that going back to Seoul means that we won't be able to protect you any more."_ Mino said slowly.

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgment. He didn't really think he needed protection anyway. As long as he stayed with the crowd, he would be safe. He had heard from Mino on the way to his bedroom that the Snow Pack had already gotten in enough trouble with the Lycoi Justice these past days. They needed to be careful.

Mino had also confessed that both his pack and the Swamp Pack were planning on doing another attack a week from now on. They needed to put down the Main Alpha for the war to be truly over. Junhwe knew that vengeance wouldn't bring back his mother, but he did hope that they would win and destroy the Snow Pack, it would be his only source of comfort.

Mino sighed as he backed away slowly, stopping in the door frame once more as he glanced back at Junhwe.

_"I'll try to get a car and someone to drive you. Wait there until I come back."_

Junhwe nodded as Mino left the room, closing the door behind him. The man had explained on the way that he probably wasn't going to be able to drive him in the end. He and Dongmin needed to have a serious talk regarding the Swamp Pack. Namjoon was dead, Seokjin most likely was too and Sana, the Lead Omega was missing. 

They also needed to decide what to do with Taehyun and Junhwe could understand how busy both Mino and Dongmin were.

Thinking back on the way he had acted with his best friend, Junhwe could feel his heart beating painfully with remorse. He had been so upset, sad and angry at the same time that he had just spoken his mind without really meaning to. He had hurt his best friend, he knew it and he regretted it.

Junhwe sighed deeply as he sat down on Jinhwan's bed. He didn't even know if he was making the right decision. For almost a month, he had been living in the den with Lycoi and even if he had been slightly weirded out at first, he had gotten used to it.

Going back to his life felt weird, he still couldn't believe that he was going to be able to go back to college, see his friends. What scared him was the loneliness he was most definitely going to feel. Sure, he had other friends, but Dongmin had always been there for him.

He was going to live alone in his big house, he didn't even how he was going to do for taxes and food. He had no money, no parents, and he couldn't possibly tell anybody of what had happened.

Mino had assured him they were going to help him through the papers and make sure that everything went well for him, but even if all the papers were done, if his mother was officially dead in the eyes of mankind, it wouldn't keep people from inquiring about his parents.

People were going to wonder how a nineteen-year-old-boy had ended up being all alone on his own. Junhwe didn't want to answer any question. Just thinking of the absence his mother's death had left in his heart was enough to make his eyes water.

He felt like he was never going to feel like he wasn’t about to cry.

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened, bringing Junhwe out of his thoughts. He had been expecting Mino and was thus very surprised to see Jinhwan entering the room, before he swiftly closed the door behind him.

His hair was just as messy as Junhwe had expected it to be. It was all sticky from the blood and the mud and Junhwe thought he even saw leaves among the locks. The elder's fair skin was adorned by little stripes of red, small cuts that he had gotten during the fight. 

Junhwe noticed that Jinhwan was limping as he slowly walked up to his bed, sitting next to him on the fluffy covers in complete silence. There was tension in the air an it made Junhwe feel uneasy. He had never felt uncomfortable like this when being with Jinhwan, he didn’t like the awkwardness.

“ _I ran into Mino on the way to the room.”_ He whispered, his voice so small and quiet that Junhwe almost didn’t hear him.

Junhwe knew what Jinhwan really meant with that mere statement. ‘ _Why are you leaving?’_

Junhwe could find anything to say that wouldn’t sound like he was just trying to justify himself. He didn’t really have any reason, he was just being selfish and cowardly, just like what Dongmin had said.

“ _I understand, I’d run away too if I could.”_ Jinhwan said with a small, empty laugh.

He looked heartbroken and Junhwe knew it was his fault. He did like Jinhwan, and he was pretty sure that Jinhwan liked him back but they both knew it wasn’t worth it. Junhwe, more than love, wanted safety. He was tired of dead bodies and blood, he just wanted a simple and easy life, a human life.

He may not have been human, but he wasn’t a Lycos either. He couldn’t just shift into a wolf and tear his enemies’ throats as if taking a life was nothing. He could quiver in fear in a corner and wait for someone to save him, that was all he was capable of doing as a Hybrid.

“ _How are you feeling?”_

Junhwe’s head shot up to Jinhwan’s face. His eyes were kind and his smile gentle and even if he looked wrecked and as if he was about to cry, Junhwe felt his heart beat pick up from how beautiful he looked.

He was reminded of the night they had went out to look at the stars, he remembered how Jinhwan had asked that exact same question, the same look of concern gracing his features.

Junhwe had been able to smile, he had been able to say that he felt good, because at that time, he had felt feel good. In only a few days, that happiness had been ripped to shreds.

“ _Terrible.”_ Junhwe whispered, the lump in his throat preventing him from saying anything else.

Slowly, Jinhwan moved on the bed so that he could sit behind Junhwe and give the younger boy an awkward back hug. The position was pretty much uncomfortable and the height difference made the whole interaction rather ridicule but Junhwe needed the warmth and comfort a hug always procured.

“ _It might seem like empty words, but my mother always used to tell me, when I was still a pup and terribly scared of the war, that it never gets easy, but as time goes by, it gets easier.”_ Jinhwan whispered soothingly as he rubbed Junhwe’s back.

Junhwe felt the lump in his throat growing impossibly bigger as he closed his eyes tightly shut to keep the tears from falling.

“ _It’ll never be easy, but it will be easier. You’ll get better, Junhwe.”_ Jinhwan added as he let his head rest on the younger boy’s wide shoulders.

Junhwe couldn’t tell how long they remained like this, close and sharing warmth, but he knew that he never wanted it to end. There wouldn’t be anyone to hug him once he’d be back in Seoul. There would only be the emptiness of his house waiting for him.

When Junhwe heard a small knock on the door, he wished, for a second, that it had only been his imagination, but it was quickly followed by Mino’s voice, asking for Junhwe to come out of the hospital. Junhwe reluctantly stood up from the bed, leaving a wet-eyed Jinhwan to sit on his own among the now undone sheets.

Junhwe would have thrown everything aside and launched himself at the elder to kiss him one last time if he didn’t feel like he was about to cry as well. He needed to leave now, or he knew he was going to change his mind, and regret it.

Junhwe took one last deep breath before he bent down to pick up his bag. As he opened the door, Junhwe gave one last glance at Jinhwan, noticing how tensed the elder looked, as if he was refraining himself from running after Junhwe as well.

Junhwe managed to give Jinhwan one last small sad smile before closing the door behind himself, not missing the look of profound sorrow on the man’s face.

Junhwe’s heart was beating so loud in his chest that he couldn’t even hear anything else as he opened the main door and left the Hospital. The weather was still as terrible and cold as before. The clouds were so dark and numerous that the blue sky couldn’t even be seen anymore. It was alike a black see of  thick smoke that seemed to curse the Earth.

Junhwe slowly walked down the stairs with his crutches, making sure not to fall on the slippery steps. It had started to rain faintly, filling the air with the distinct smell of petrichor. Junhwe could feel the  small refreshing drops wetting his hair and washing the blood off his face pleasantly.

On the side of the Hospital where the main path started, Junhwe could see an old red car with two people standing next to it. Even from afar, Junhwe recognized one of them to be Haneul, based on the wild dark locks and tall silhouette.

As he slowly walked closer, Junhwe realised that the other man was Taehyung and the apparent proximity between the two brought a small smile to Junhwe’s lips. At least some people were going to end up happy even if he left, Junhwe realised as he thought back on his fight with Dongmin and his parting with Jinhwan.

With a sigh, Junhwe shuffled faster towards the car, mindful of his crutches as he walked on a few slippery rocks.

As he stopped next to the car, Junhwe locked eyes with Haneul for a second, before the other boy glanced away immediately. Unlike what Junhwe had been expecting, Haneul didn’t look angry, but sad. His eyes were wet and Junhwe couldn’t tell if the few droplets on his cheeks were from the rain or not.

Junhwe then glanced at Taehyung. The other boy was looking at him with a small smile that looked more forced than genuine as he gestured towards the passenger seat. Junhwe nodded faintly before getting in the car carefully, tossing his crutches on the back seats. 

Taehyung sat down next to him at the driver seat shortly after and the engine with a bit of trouble and an awkward laugh. He looked slightly confused and unsure.

“ _You do have a license, right?”_ Junhwe asked as Taehyung struggled to move the stick.

“ _Officially, no.”_ He whispered sheepishly as the car slowly moved ahead.

Junhwe let out a small  nervous laugh before glancing back outside, looking for Haneul. The other boy was still standing outside under the rain, looking at Junhwe through the car window. As the car started to move onto the main road, Haneul waved faintly, a sad smile gracing his sorrowful features. Junhwe felt a small smile tug at his own lips as he raised his hand to wave back.

Haneul’s lips moved slowly, mouthing out one final sentence as a tear fell down his cheek.

‘ _Be safe.’_

2nd January 2017, Seoul.

It had been a week since Junhwe had left the den and everything linked to Lycoi behind. As soon as he had arrived in his house, he had been surprised to see that it had been cleaned up. From what Junhwe had heard, when the Snow Pack had broken into the house to take his mother, they had broken a few things.

Taehyung had explained during the car drive that the Lycoi Justice was very good at hiding proof of the Lycoi’s existence, even more when they needed to create false papers and statements.

Indeed, the next day, Junhwe had had a few people from the Lycoi Justice knocking on his door. They had had asked many questions, made him sign a few papers that stated that he wasn’t allowed to tell anything related to the Lycoi to other humans.

In exchange, the Lycoi Justice would provide him with financial supports and make sure to retrieve his mother’s body in order to give her a grave to rest in peace at. Junhwe felt thankful for the way things had been handled so quickly and so easily.

He couldn’t have dealt with police officers bugging him to know where his mother had disappeared to. The Lycoi Justice had assured him that no one was ever going to come ask things, they had handled everything very carefully, no one would ever know.

Deep down, Junhwe thought it was unfair to his mother. Her whole life she had fought for justice and peace. Until her very end, she had fought, and yet no one was ever going to know about it.

Junhwe sighed as he heard the school bell ring. He couldn’t even tell what class he had just attended to. He hadn’t taken any notes and he hadn’t even listened to one word the teacher had said. His grades were still the same as ever and it was the very first day of school after the winter break, he was allowed to slack off a bit.

He slowly got up from his chair, checked on his schedule that it was indeed the last class of the day before walking out of his classroom.

On the way out to the main yard, Junhwe saw waiting near the main gates a few of his friends. He had not had the chance to talk to them since he had been back, too caught up in papers and false statements to take some time to relax.

But even now Junhwe didn’t feel like talking to them. He was sure that everyone had noticed Dongmin’s absence and even if they didn’t know about his mother, they were definitely going to inquire about his best friend.

Junhwe didn’t feel like explaining anything and so he took a swift turn, choosing to exit through the back gates. It would drop in right into the fateful alley-way and Junhwe had been planing on going there anyway.

Junhwe took a deep breath as he stopped in front of the shop. He couldn’t see any blood on the pavement and he had no idea who had cleaned it up, but there was nothing left of the fight that had occurred there less than a month ago.

Without even thinking, Junhwe entered the shop and bought a popsicle. He knew that it wasn’t even near as warm as it should be to eat a popsicle, but he didn’t really care. As he left the small shop, Junhwe took his phone out of his pocket as he looked at the different buses schedules. He had somewhere he needed to be.

A few minutes later, Junhwe was seated on a regional bus, headed towards Gwangju. He didn’t really know if what he was going was wise or not. Ever since he had been back in Seoul, he had remembered Mino’s words. _‘We’re going for war next Monday.’_

Junhwe didn’t want to have anything to do with Lycoi or war any more, but he hadn’t been able to refrain himself from jumping into that bus. The bus stop was right in front of the forest and even if Junhwe knew he had higher chances of getting lost than finding the way to the Hospital, he needed to give it a try.

One last time. He was going to make sure to say farewell properly this time, he would tell them to fight, he would tell all of them to be safe, just in case they were to never come back.

Junhwe had hated the way he had had to part with Dongmin. He needed to apologize, to tell his best friend that he loved him, that he was deeply sorry. He didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

When the bus finally stopped in Gwangju, Junhwe swiftly walked out of the bus, making sure not to use his right ankle too much. It hadn’t been that much of a bad twist and the doctor had simply advised him to let it rest for a few weeks.

Junhwe was sure that taking a walk and risking to get lost in a forest wasn’t exactly what he had meant by ‘letting it rest’ but it was now or never. They might have already left the Hospital and he needed to hurry.

After a few minutes of mindless wandering, Junhwe took a small break under a tall tree. The weather had gotten incredibly warmer the past week and if he remembered the rain of last Monday, this day was completely sunny and mild. He almost regretted not wearing something less hot than his winter jacket.

Junhwe tiredly stretched his arms above his head before checking the time on his phone. It was already 5pm and the sun wasn’t going to stay up for much longer. He kind of knew where he was and he had no doubt that he could still turn around and wait by the bus stop but it felt like a shame. He had already come this far, and his ankle wasn’t nearly as painful as he had expected it to be. He could still walk.

Junhwe slowly got up from his comfortable spot and resumed his walk. After only a few minutes, the numbers of trees seemed to lessen as if he was about to exit the forest. Junhwe almost started worrying that he had been walking in the wrong direction when he suddenly realised that he was only coming to a clearing.

The clearing was huge, so huge it looked more like a meadow. The swathes were filled with tall walls of green grass that Junhwe immediately recognized to be the place he and Jinhwan had been to a few weeks ago. 

A happy and genuine smile blossomed on his lips as he walked ahead, feeling the grass tickling his hands. He had missed this place, it looked like a secret haven straight out of a fantasy comic and it made him feel incredibly at peace.

When he looked up to the sky, Junhwe noticed that the sun was already setting, basking the clearing in a pristine orange light. It was only the very beginning of the twilight and Junhwe knew that if he hurried himself he could be back at the bus stop before it was dark but he didn’t feel like leaving just yet.

Slowly, Junhwe lowered himself to the ground, sitting among the tall walls and almost disappearing behind them. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, feeling the sun rays warming up his face. It was such a pleasant feeling that Junhwe decided he wasn’t going to leave until it was completely dark.

He knew that there might not be any buses left by the time he finally reached the bus stop but he was sure he could find a cab to call, even in the middle of the night. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment fully.

Ever since he had left the den, Junhwe had been restless. He had somehow expected a Lycos to come after him to kill him, or to somehow get in trouble with the police. Surprisingly, everything had gone by pretty smoothly and even if Junhwe had his old life back just like he had wanted, he didn’t feel happy.

Every time he felt down, Junhwe would remember Jinhwan’s words. It wouldn’t really make him feel any happier, it actually made him sadder to think of the elder, but at least it made him hope.

_It never gets easy, but it gets easier._

Junhwe breathed in deeply the earthy scent, feelings a slight shiver run through his body as the sun light slowly faded out, and breathed out. He was getting better. There were days where he felt like crying, some he wondered why he was even still living, but there were days like this one, where he felt purely and happily peaceful.

As Junhwe stood up, and turned around to leave the clearing, he heard the now familiar sound of rustling leave. For a second, Junhwe’s heart froze up. He was still very far away from the Hospital, it could be a regular wolf, or even a bear and his very first reflex was to slowly back away from the edge of the woods from which the sound was coming.

Thankfully, it was no wolf, or bear, or even a Lycos from the Snow Pack., it wasn’t no animal at all. It was a very familiar man, with shiny warm orange hair and very surprised dark eyes.

Jinhwan was standing at the edge of the woods, breathless as he stared up ahead at Junhwe. His mouth hung slack open as if he was about to speak up, but didn’t really know where to begin.

Junhwe felt that way too. As he took in the sight of the elder, standing right in front of him, his pale face warmed up by the sunset and his smooth hair softly ruffled by the breeze, Junhwe felt like he couldn’t think any more.

He just wanted to rush ahead and crush the man in a hug, he wanted to run a hand through his hair as he pressed his lips against Jinhwan’s. But he remained standing, motionless, staring at the ethereal appearance. 

For a second, he thought that maybe he was dreaming. Jinhwan shouldn’t be there, he should be getting ready for war, he should be on his way to the Snow Pack’s den. But he was there, right in front of him, within reach.

“ _What are you doing here?”_ Jinhwan then asked, his voice as sweet as Junhwe remembered it to be.

“ _That should be my question, I thought you guys were leaving today.”_ Junhwe said with a small forced laugh.

He felt awkward standing up, doing nothing as Jinhwan looked at him up and down.

“ _We were leaving, I ran away because I smelt you.”_

Junhwe’s head swiftly shot up as he found Jinhwan’s eyes. The two of them stared at one another in silence as the older man’s cheeks slowly reddened before he glanced away towards the darkening sky.

Gathering all the courage Junhwe had, he slowly walked ahead towards Jinhwan, stopping right in front of the elder. They were so close that Junhwe could smell his familiar honey scent and it took him everything he had not to bend down and kiss Jinhwan.

He didn’t know what the boundaries were. He didn’t know what they were and he didn’t know what he was allowed to do, but he knew for sure that he had missed the elder and that he wanted to be able to feel him close more than anything.

After a few seconds, Jinhwan glanced down from the sky to meet Junhwe’s eyes, before smiling gracefully. He slowly raised a hand up to Junhwe’s head to brush a strand of hair away from the younger boy’s vision. The gentle feeling of Jinhwan’s fingers brushing against his temple was all it took Junhwe to give up on the restraint he had tried to gather.

Without any warning, Junhwe closed the last few centimeters separating him from Jinhwan and took the elder in his arms swiftly, holding him close. The other man tensed up from the surprise, but it only lasted a few seconds before he sagged against Junhwe’s chest, letting his head rest against the boy’s chest.

Junhwe realised that Jinhwan would probably be able to hear his heartbeat but he couldn’t care less in that moment. He couldn’t find the heart to feel embarrassed when he had Jinhwan’ hair tickling his nose and his arms around his waist. It just felt too nice.

Junhwe had never really been a physically affectionate person, but all the recent events and the loneliness that he had been forced to experience in his empty house had made him crave some human contact.

“ _I need to go back...”_ Jinhwan mumbled, his voice muffled by Junhwe’s shirt.

Junhwe reluctantly let go of Jinhwan, taking a small step back as he glanced down to meet Jinhwan’s dark eyes. Junhwe didn’t want him to go back. If Jinhwan left, Junhwe would have to go back to Seoul, go back to college, to his house. Only a week ago, it seemed like a dream to go back to his old life but now it seemed rather like a nightmare.

Junhwe was glad that he finally didn’t have anything to do with the war any more and for nothing would he go back to the den. He just felt like he had been deceived. He had expected instant happiness by leaving the war, but how could he be happy without the people that were the source of his joy?

His mother was dead and he had left his best friend to fight on his own. Junhwe hadn’t truly realised how lonely he was going to be and even if he didn’t regret his choice, he just wished things would have turned out differently. 

He wished he could just fool himself into believing that everything was just a dream. He wanted to hold Jinhwan back, he wanted to force him to stay with him to watch the sunset just a bit longer. But then what? The sun was going to be gone at some point, but he could always ask for Jinhwan to stay just a bit longer to watch the stars, just like a few weeks ago.

But then the day would come, the war would still be there and Jinhwan would still have to go fight for it. There was no forever for the two of them, and that realisation pained him. He just wished he could sit down on the ground and stay hidden in those woods forever.

He didn’t want to see Jinhwan go, he didn’t want to leave Dongmin, he didn’t want to be left alone.

“ _Don’t go._ ” Junhwe whispered as he closed his eyes to keep them dry. He didn’t want to cry. 

Jinhwan’s smile fell. He bit down on his lips before tilting his head back and glancing up at the sky. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes too, trying as well to prevent himself from crying.

“ _How about… How about we play a game?”_ Jinhwan suddenly stuttered, his voice breaking half-way as he quickly brushed a tear away.

Junhwe opened his eyes to lookat the elder in confusion. He opened his mouth to answer but closed it straight away. He couldn’t understand where Jinhwan was going with that offer.

“ _If you win, I’ll stay.”_ He went on with a small forced smile that didn’t reach his wet eyes.

Junhwe was too puzzled to really answer, he simply nodded confusedly, He knew that there was a twist to Jinhwan’s idea. He needed to go with the other Lycoi, he couldn’t stay, no matter how hard the two of them wanted it, he couldn’t possibly stay.

“ _Hide and seek, if you find me, I’ll stay. Pinky promise.”_ Jinhwan whispered as he closed the small distance between them.

Jinhwan took a hold of Junhwe’ right hand and linked their fingers together, smiling sadly up at Junhwe. His eyes didn’t have the same usual bright glow in them and it broke Junhwe’s heart. He slowly looked down at their intertwined hands, a small smile tugging at his lips as he stared at how small Jinhwan’s fingers were compared to his own.

Junhwe took a deep breath as he nodded, he was willing to play even if he couldn’t understand where Jinhwan was going with this game. What would happen if Junhwe found him? He was probably already in trouble for running away, Junhwe didn’t want Jinhwan to get in even bigger problems by staying. Junhwe didn’t even know if he was going to look for Jinhwan at all if it got him in trouble.

They both knew it could be for the best if Junhwe just left right then and went home without looking back.

“ _Close your eyes and count up to a hundred.”_ Jinhwan ordered as he let go of Junhwe’s hand.

Junhwe closed his eyes straight away. He trusted Jinhwan. He could feel the cold air brushing against his face and ruffling his hair. The sun was probably about to completely disappear to let the moon shine down its immaculate rays. The weather seemed a lot colder and Junhwe wished he could warm both Jinhwan and himself in a hug.

Junhwe wasn’t sure if he was already supposed to start counting and just as he was about to, he heard something that sounded way too much alike a sob for him to keep his eyes shut. He quickly opened them and looked around, feeling his own eyes water when he took in the sight of the tears streaming down Jinhwan’s face.

But that sorrowful sight only lasted a second as Jinhwan immediately rushed forward and put his hands on Junhwe’s eyes.

“ _No cheating.”_ He breathed out.

Junhwe obeyed, feeling the tears gather at the corner of his now tightly closed eyes. Jinhwan’s hands slowly left his face, leaving behind a pleasant warmth that Junhwe wished he could bask in forever.

“ _One.”_ He said aloud before continuing to count in his head.

He had no desire to play any more. He just wanted to open his eyes and rush forwards to hug Jinhwan.

Junhwe took a deep breath to calm himself down. He needed to remain collected. He was going to find Jinhwan, he was going to make him stay. They still had things to discuss, feelings to discuss. 

_Ten._

Junhwe let out a shriek of surprise when he felt a hand on his cheek, his heart beating fast from the scare. He heard Jinhwan laugh right beside his ear and it took all Junhwe had for him not to open his eyes.

_Twenty._

The warm and small hand slowly went from his cheek to his nape, bringing him forward gently. Junhwe let himself be guided and slowly bent his back and leaning forwards, his heart beat picking up in expectation.

_Thirty._

The sudden pressure on his lips was faint and unsure, but it ignited Junhwe’s heart with a stronger fire than he had ever felt before. He leaned forward, blindly reaching for the elder’s cheek with his hand until his thumb brushed lightly against Jinhwan’s cheekbone, stroking the smooth skin gently.

_Forty._

Junhwe put his other hand on Jinhwan’s hip, bringing their body impossibly closer to deepen the kiss. He could feel Jinhwan’s hesitation and the way he was trying to back away. Junhwe could see why, he was already almost halfway done counting and Jinhwan was nowhere close to finding a hiding spot. It brought a smile to his lips despite him as pressed them even stronger on Jinhwan’s.

_Fifty._

Slowly, Jinhwan backed away, breaking the kiss but remaining close to Junhwe’s chest. He could hear the elder’s heavy breathing and it made his entire body scream for more. He was about to crash their lips together once more but Jinhwan suddenly slipped away from his grasp, leaving Junhwe to stand on his own in the cold wind.

_Sixty._

Junhwe would have given anything to be able to see Jinhwan’s face. He could imagine how red his lips would be and the way his dark eyes would be ignited by the same fire that was eating Junhwe alive. But his eyes remained tightly shut as he listened carefully to the sounds around him.

_Seventy._

If he was attentive enough, he probably would be able to tell which way Jinhwan had ran away, it would make the search a lot easier. But everything around him was quiet. He couldn’t even tell if the elder was still there or not.

_Eighty._

Junhwe suddenly heard a bit of rustling on his left and turned his head towards the noise. He could hear something alike fabric hitting the ground and if Junhwe was confused for a second, he quickly realised what Jinhwan was doing. He was getting undressed and in any other situation, Junhwe would have been very confused but now he understood why Jinhwan had offered that game in the first place. Playing Hide and Seek with a human wasn’t hard, but with a Lycos, it was a different story.

_Ninety._

Jinhwan had never planned on giving Junhwe a chance to find him. He was going to run away in wolf form and Junhwe could look for him the entire night throughout the whole forest and he wouldn’t be able to find him. The realisation brought back the lump in Junhwe’s throat as his heart started to beat painfully in his chest.

_Ninety-Five._

“ _Remember.”_ Jinhwan whispered, his voice almost drown out by the wind.

_Ninety-Six._

“ _It never gets easy, but it gets easier.”_

_Ninety-Seven._

“ _If you find me, I’ll stay.”_

_Ninety-Eight._

“ _Farewell, Junhwe.”_

_Ninety-Nine._

Junhwe heard the sounds of fabric hitting the earthy ground, then the sound of claws and the rustling of leaves.

When he opened his eyes, Jinhwan was nowhere to be found. All there was were a few pieces of clothing abandoned on the ground and darkness.

The sun had set, leaving space for the moon to rise up the dark pool of black water that the sky had become. There were many stars visible, lighting up the very far space like little white bulbs.

Junhwe looked around one last time as a tear fell down his cheek. He knew it wasn’t worth looking for Jinhwan, he was never going to find him. He had never planned on staying.

Junhwe gave the meadow one last look as he turned around.

“ _Hundred!”_ He shouted before turning swiftly around to walk towards the woods’ edge.

After a few minutes of walking, Junhwe finally found his way out of the forest. It didn’t take him long to arrive at the bus stop and as expected, the last one had already come a long time ago.

Thankfully, Junhwe had service and he could call a cab. Although he had managed to get one to come all the way to Gwangju, it was going to take a while and Junhwe was frozen to the bone.

He sat down on the pavement in silence and hugged his knees to his chest to save a bit of warmth, waiting patiently for the cab to come. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to get home, but it wasn’t really like he had somewhere else to go.

In times where he felt down, Junhwe usually went over Dongmin’s house to talk a bit with his best friend and even if they hadn’t gotten in fight, Junhwe realised that he wouldn’t have been able to go there at all any way. 

What would he have told the Lee? They may have been Dongmin’s adoptive parents, but they loved him as if he was their own and Junhwe had no idea what he was going to do about them. They were eventually going to come ask Junhwe if he had seen Dongmin.

Junhwe hoped the Lycoi Justice would find something to tell them, he couldn’t possibly deal with a heart-broken mother crying on his shoulder asking for her son. He would have a break down.

Suddenly, Junhwe heard in the distance a howl. It was faint and Junhwe couldn’t possibly tell if it actually was a Lycos or not, but he wanted to convince himself that it was. The first howl was quickly followed another, and many more. It seemed as if they were all singing a sad melody in harmony and although Junhwe knew that it was something regular wolves did, there was no doubt left in his heart that it was coming from the Cloud and Swamp pack.

Junhwe heard a slight rustling sound on his left and he quickly wiped his head around, feeling his heart beating faster from the slight scare. It was too dark for him to really see anything, but he could have sworn, as the clouds slightly parted to let the moon light up the pavement, that he saw the furtive shape of a familiar dark gray wolf, with charcoal black ears.

_It will get easier._

_(6328 words)_

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading "The Cloudy One", I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. I apologize for the numerous mistakes, I tried my best.  
> There is still an Epilogue coming and it has nothing to do with the main plot since the story is officially finished, but it is still relevant if you're interested in knowing whether Junhwe is ever going to be with his Lycoi friends or not :3.


	16. Epilogue

31st March 2017, Seoul.

_"Wanna hang out?"_

Junhwe's head shot up quickly from the book on his laps to Donghyuk's face. His friend was standing right above him, wearing his usual lop-sided grin as a few strands of warm chocolate hair fell in front of his black eyes.

Junhwe looked back down to the book, sighing at the amount of pages left. It was a book his psychology professor had highly recommended and Junhwe already regretted buying it. He wasn't even sure it was going to help him with his studies.

Junhwe put the book back in his bag as he stood up from the auditorium's bench before walking out of the room, Donghyuk in his tracks. He had been so caught up in studying for the approaching finals that he had not been able to spend much time with his newly made friend.

Donghyuk had moved out from Jeju to Seoul two months ago and he had arrived in the middle of the year with no one to hang out with. Junhwe and him were taking most classes together and since Junhwe always sat alone, they had somehow been paired together during a few courses that required teamwork.

They had ended up getting along pretty well and they had become friends very quickly, which was a good thing for Junhwe. Over the past three months, he had started to hang out with his friends less and less. They all had kept inquiring about Dongmin and it had gotten to a point that even seeing a person he used to consider a friend’s face made him angry.

Donghyuk was never going to ask questions, and it was an immense relief to Junhwe. He was a very sweet and kind boy and it would have been a lie if Junhwe said he didn’t see the similarities he and Dongmin shared.

Each time Donghyuk pronounced a word differently because of his strong Jeju accent, Junhwe would be reminded of his first meeting with Dongmin and if it used to pain him, now it warmed his heart up. 

Junhwe glanced up at the sky as the two of them entered the main yard. The sky was clear and of a bright blue and if the sun was shining down strongly, the mild wind made the heat seem more tolerable.

Junhwe stretched out his arms above his head before reaching down his worn out jeans to fish out his phone. He glanced at the time mindlessly but had to double-check when he realised how late it already was.

“ _I’m sorry Donghyuk, I didn’t notice it was already 4.”_ Junhwe quickly said as he put his phone back into his pocket before reaching down the other one to grab the keys to his newly bought twenty-five-year-old car. 

Donghyuk raised a confused brow before looking at the time on his own phone.

“ _I didn’t think you’d manage to read for so long.”_ Donghyuk half-whispered with a grin.

Junhwe huffed as he walked towards the students’ parking lot. He stopped in front of his car before turning around to look at his friend. Donghyuk was going through his bag-pack, probably trying to find his own keys.

“ _You’ll need to bring me to that forest one day.”_ Donghyuk said as he finally put his bag back on his back, keys in hand.

Junhwe nodded reluctantly. Maybe one day, he would, but for now he didn’t really feel like sharing his little ritual. Ever since his farewell with the pack, Junhwe had been coming back to the meadow every Friday, just so that he could enjoy the sunset before going back to his lonely house.

He had, in fact, bought that old tacky car just for the sake of being able to drive there whenever he wanted. He even had had to do out of school studying to learn how to drive and get his license. But Junhwe knew it was worth it.

The peaceful atmosphere among the walls of green always made him feel at ease and relaxed. It had been his only source of comfort with no one there for him. But now things really seemed like they were getting easier.

His grades were better, he had a friend and even if his house still felt as lonely, it didn’t hurt as much. Just as the Lycoi Justice had promised him, they had managed to retrieve his mother’s body and had put up a grave for her in one of Seoul’s cemetery. 

Junhwe didn’t go there often, it always left him with a bitter feeling of unfairness and sadness, but he was thankful that he at least had a place to cry her at.

With a small wave to Donghyuk, Junhwe entered his car and started the engine before leaving the parking lot. He knew the way by heart now, he even knew small shot-cuts that would make him arrive even faster. But Junhwe was in no rush. The sun was setting later and later these days, he could take his time to drive to Gwangju.

When he arrived, Junhwe parked the car on the side of the road, close to the bus stop. It was his main landmark when trying to find back where he had left his car.

The sun was still high in the sky and Junhwe decided that instead of going straight to the meadow, he was going to first take a small walk in the woods. He had gone so many times now that he knew the forest by heart and he was pretty sure that he would never get lost, even at night.

His ankle had completely recovered a month ago and going back to the Gonjiam Forest had truly been easier ever since. Now, he could even say that he rather enjoyed his walks. He had never been a nature person and he would have never thought that he was ever going to end up walking around woods for his own enjoyment and yet there he was, surrounded by trees.

Junhwe came to a stop when he saw the familiar big tree he had been taking naps under ever since he had discovered it on one of his walk. He let himself flop down on the fallen leaves, resting his back against the tree’s trunk. 

The sun was shining down his face through the tree’s branches and the light almost blinded him. He couldn’t remember March ever being so warm and pleasant. Junhwe slowly closed his eyes, basking in the comforting warmth for a few seconds before blindly reaching for his bag.

Once he had brought into his laps, Junhwe took a worn-out folder out before throwing the bag a few meters away. As always, Junhwe neatly placed the folder down on his laps and opened it carefully, making sure not to drop any of the sheets.

Junhwe didn’t really know why he kept carrying his mother’s work paper around but it seemed like an important memento to be kept. She had given her life for the Lycoi and Junhwe felt like he ought to appreciate her work and keep it used.

Every time he went there, sat under the tree, Junhwe would take out the folder and look through the Lycoi’s sheets. There was always a few Junhwe never remembered, mostly because he had never talked to these Lycoi while he was in the den, but there were some sheets that brought tears to his eyes.

Yoongi’s always seemed to make his heart ache, as well as Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s. Junhwe didn’t even know what had happened to the Swamp Pack’s Main Omega. Junhwe wished he was still alive so that he could care for Dongmin.

Junhwe still regretted the way he had parted with his best friend.

With a sigh, he took a hold of the first sheet in the folder, a small smile on his lips as he read Hoseok’s name. Junhwe hope he was still dating that Lycos girl, they made a nice couple. 

He let his finger ghost over the man’s name before looking down at the bottom of the sheet where his mother neat handwriting read _‘Swampy One’._ Junhwe couldn’t even begin to imagine how long it must have taken his mother to write down every sheet.

There were some for the Snow Pack and the Ice Pack, even for packs that Junhwe had never heard of.

A sudden howl in the distance made Junhwe freeze up and put the sheet back in the folder swiftly. It wasn’t the first time that he heard howls in that forest. He, in fact, had heard a lot of keening in the woods before, almost every time he went. Yet, each time Junhwe packed his things in a hurry before trying to follow the howls. He never stopped hoping.

Junhwe threw his bag on his back in a quick motion before standing completely still against the tree, waiting for another howl. He had noticed that howls never seemed to come alone. There would always be another wolf to answer, at another pitch.

Junhwe couldn’t even understand how these animals had a better sense of pitch than he did but they always seemed to be able to harmonize together as a pack. So far, Junhwe had never been able to see any wolves but he was convinced that the wolves he had heard weren’t Lycoi.

Wolves, as he had noticed, had quite a tendency to howl for any reason, or simply to unit the pack. Lycoi only howled when they needed to warn each other, or for a farewell, Junhwe suddenly thought with a bitter smile, remembering the day he had heard the whole pack howl together for the first, and last time.

After a few minutes of standing completely still, Junhwe let out a sigh of disappointment from the lack of keening. Even if he had not seen any wolf so far, simply hearing them was a nice feeling.

But Junhwe suddenly realised that the woods shouldn’t remain silent after one howl. That had never happened before. A howl was always followed by another, or at least when it came to regular wolves.

The same howl echoed throughout the woods, but it seemed closer this time. Junhwe waited with baited breath for an answer, but only silence came. He quickly started to walk in the direction from which he thought he had heard the howl, but he wasn’t really sure he was headed in the right direction.

It was easier usually, because the wolves answered one another and kept howling, but that wasn’t the case there. Junhwe didn’t know if it was any possible for a wolf to end up alone and try to call for his pack, but he knew that it was either that, or a Lycos.

Junhwe didn’t really know if he wanted it to be the second option. After all, he had chosen to leave the war, to leave the Lycoi. Junhwe was almost convinced that it was going to be a regular wolf again, and that he was only going to be left with disappointment in the end.

There was no reason for a Lycos to run around these woods, unless they were from the Snow Pack and trying to kill Junhwe. He had no idea if the Snow Pack was even still a thing. Maybe the war was already over, maybe it had been over for months.

No one was going to come tell Junhwe anything regarding Lycoi any more, especially not if it was linked to the war. Junhwe merely wished he had a way of making sure his friends were alright.

He knew that he had abandoned them, that he had no right to be asking for them to keep him informed but he still cared for them. He knew perfectly well how dangerous living as a Lycos was and he just wanted to make sure that all of them were alright.

The wolf howled once more, breaking the silence only temporarily before it came back, even stronger than before. It had seemed even closer as if it was right in front of Junhwe.

For a second, he got scared. It seemed too easy, it was as if the wolf was trying to lure him, as if he was making Junhwe follow its howl on purpose and no matter how Junhwe was trying to reassure himself, it still seemed odd.

A regular wolf wouldn’t act that way. Junhwe wished for it to be a Lycos, he knew that, for once, there was an actual chance for it to be a Lycos. That had never happened before, he had never managed to get so close to the howling, and it had never been a lone keening either.

Junhwe took a deep breath before looking around, trying to situate where he was in case he suddenly needed to run back to his car. He was, in fact, no too far from the main road. The meadow should be right in front of him a few meters away and even if he knew where he was, Junhwe felt uneasy.

He didn’t know if he should rather run away of walk ahead. Even if the wolf was indeed a Lycos, what were the odds for him to be a friendly one? Junhwe didn’t even know a tenth of the Lycoi in Seoul and it could be a completely foreign Lycos just taking a walk.

It could also be a Lycos from the Snow Pack and if that was the case, Junhwe knew that he should get ready to run very fast because he had no desire at all to die just yet.

That last possibility seemed less and less likely the more Junhwe thought about it, but it could be just a mere wolf, and Junhwe didn’t really know if wolves were as violent in real life as they were in little red riding hood. 

Junhwe felt his body shiver as the wolf howled once more. It was so close now that it had violently rang in Junhwe’s ears and it was still echoing in his head. He heard the rustling of leaves in front of him, hidden inside the bushes and the distinctive sound of claws hitting the muddy ground.

If he couldn’t see it yet, Junhwe knew that the wolf was right behind the big bushes separating the woods’ edge and the meadow.

For a few seconds that started to feel like hours, Junhwe remained standing motionless, his eyes stuck on the bushes as he breathed in deeply, trying to calm his hammering heart down. If there was anything Lycoi and wolves had in common, it was their noses. They both could easily smell strong feelings, such as fear and Junhwe definitely knew that letting a wild animal know that you were scared of it wasn’t a good idea.

Surprisingly, the wolf didn’t leap forward to rip his throat, as Junhwe had been expecting but most likely rushed away towards the meadow, the faint sound of claws hitting the ground disappearing with him, leaving the bushes to rustle from the movement.

A few seconds later, it howled again as if calling for Junhwe.

Junhwe took a deep breath before sighing deeply, trying to get himself together before rushing past the bushes and into the meadow. If it really had been a wolf from the Snow Pack, Junhwe would already be dead, he knew that much.

It still didn’t mean that Junhwe felt completely comfortable walking towards a howling wolf, or Lycos, he wasn’t even sure. Among the trees, Junhwe was less vulnerable but in such a big open space as that huge clearing, he was an easy prey.

The wolf howled again, it seemed stronger this time, as if it was getting impatient and it would almost have made Junhwe scoff if he wasn’t as worried as he currently was. He wanted to run back to his car and go back home, but he was also curious.

There was no doubt left in his heart that the wolf was a Lycos. No wolf would get so close to a human being on their own, and straight out have them follow their tracks. That wolf was a Lycos, and it was trying to get Junhwe to follow him.

Junhwe took a deep breath before fishing his phone out of his pocket. It wasn’t even 6 yet, the sun wasn’t about to set yet but he couldn’t take too long or he was going to have to find his way back to his car in the dark.

Any other day, he wouldn’t have minded, he knew the forest way too well to get lost anyway. But that day was different, there was a wolf that seemed very much interested in him out there and Junhwe didn’t want to be there at night, ready to be eaten by wild animals.

Junhwe put his phone back in his pocket and slowly took a step forward. He could feel his heart beating fast in his chest as he got closer to the bushes, almost expecting the wolf to leap out of them suddenly.

Once he was close enough, Junhwe swiftly pushed the branches away, finding the small path towards the meadow. The number of trees was decreasing and he could see the pink light of sunset shining down through the few branches left over his head.

Less than a second later, Junhwe was standing at the edge of the woods, swathes of bright green everywhere in front of him.

Junhwe roamed his eyes over the grass, trying desperately to find the wolf, but he couldn’t seem to see anything. Then, something popped out of the tall walls of green, attracting Junhwe’s attention. He immediately recognized it to be two fluffy wolf ears and he couldn’t tell if they were orange from the sunset or not.

His heart was beating madly in his chest, but it came to a sudden stop when the wolf’s head rose up from the grass. A smile blossomed on his lips as he locked eyes with the familiar orange wolf.

“ _I’ve found you, Cloudy One.”_

_It did get easier._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and heRE WE ARE GUYS!! 
> 
> hjkkh5jà_-_èfgQSDF67'(è-ètgh,klh_èr('zé"q's(d-fgèh_jçklmù$
> 
> It is the final end. I hope you liked this story!  
> After this chapter you'll find a few author's notes and a link to a Pinterest page on which I uploaded the pictures I based my descriptions on for the different wolves. You definitely do no need to read it but feel free to drop by :3


	17. Author's ramble

So, uh, hi. First of all, thank you very much for reading "The Cloudy One" until the end, it means a lot to me. I'm very happy that I've been able to finish that story and to share it with people. I hope it was enjoyable!

So, here are a few links that you can check out if you're interested:

Here is my ASKfm account that I literally created for the only purpose of being able to answer any questions regarding this fanfiction. So, if you have some, feel free to go there and ask questions.  
https://ask.fm/nereno

Here is the link to a Pinterest board on which I uploaded the different pictures I used for the wolf form descriptions of the different characters. If you're the more visual kind of reader, you might enjoy seeing the Lycoi the way I imagined them.  
https://fr.pinterest.com/camillew0374/the-cloudy-one-wolves/

 

And so, here is the final end of The Cloudy One. Thank you again for reading until the end.

 

Disclaimer.

This is a work of fan fiction using characters inspired from real people, I do not own any of the characters beside Haneul, Dongmin, Chaemin and Donghyun. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the people that they're inspired from. The story and situation that I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to the idols's lives. This is a work intended for entertainment and I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story.

 

Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading this chapter until the end. I hope you had fun and that you enjoyed it. Please do leave comments, even a random '':D'' will always make writers happy!


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